Night Shadows
by RMprincess
Summary: A story about Murtagh and one of Galbatorix's evil magicians Gia. Gia is problematic and dangerous girl who will crazily fell in love with a dragon rider. Rated M for some scenes.
1. Into the dark

**Disclaimer:**I don't own the characters; they all belong to Christopher Paolini except Gia and other characters you don't' recognize as Paolini's.

**Author's note: **This story is rated M mostly because of language and some scenes. I dedicate this story to my friend Nika who promised to make a trailer for it too. (Thank you!)

* * *

"Gia, the Twins need you." said tall brown-haired man to the one of the girls who were sitting outside Galbatorix's castle in Uru'baen.

"Oh, great." a girl with long dark hair got up, looking angrily at the man.

"Hurry! We don't have whole day!" said the man.

"I'm going, ok?" Gia gave him an angry look and went inside of the castle.

"Oh, how great she's finally gone!" said one blond girl and all other girls smiled, immediately starting to gossip. Gia knew that very well but since the whole town hated her, she didn't have other choice then to be friends with someone, no matter what they say behind her back. Of course it was all because she was one of the king's magicians.

"What do you want now?" asked Gia annoyed because she hated the Twins calling her always to do something for them. She realized they are standing in front of one dungeon and there was blood on their robes.

"We've been trying to break this boy for a week…" said one Twin.

"…and we don't want to call the king for this…" said another Twin.

"Fine." said Gia, her dark eyes shined "But what do we have to find out?"

"Just get into his mind." said the Twin.

"And you two freaks couldn't do that?" laughed Gia.

"Shut up! We're still dangerous." said the Twin angrily.

"Oh, yes…you poor things…I'm so scared." Gia made a scared face then laughed.

"Just do what we say!" yelled one Twin, loosing his temper.

"Fuck off." Gia rolled her eyes and opened the door of the dungeon. The floor was totally covered with blood and all kinds of things the Twins used. Finally Gia saw a man the Twins were torturing, chained to the wall.

"Oh, shit." said Gia to herself and then looked at the Twins "I thought we're not supposed to kill him!"

"Exactly." said one Twin "He's still alive. And you have to keep him alive."

"Then do me a favor and break those chains." said Gia looking at one Twin and then at another "And you give me a knife."

The Twins looked angrily at her but finally did what she asked for. She took the knife and started to clean it with her long black dress.

"Who is he anyway?" asked Gia and looked at the man who just fell down on the floor when one of the Twins released the chains.

"You won't believe this." smiled one Twin "Morzan's son, Murtagh."

"What?" Gia looked at them with surprise and then smiled "This will be interesting."

"Now you understand why Galbatorix wants him alive." said the Twin "And we brought him here."

"Huh, would you mind?" said Gia and looked at the door "Out, out, out!"

"We're not going anywhere." said one Twin and looked at Gia angrily.

"Oh, yes you are!" Gia laughed and then she was serious again "I'm working alone! I don't need you."

"Fine." said Twin annoyed and they both went out of the dungeon. Gia got closer to Murtagh who was on the floor, breathing heavily. Finally he slowly moved his head and looked at her. Gia stared into his dark eyes filled with pain and tried to enter his mind.

"Interesting." she said surprised when her mind attacks were stopped "Guess I'll have to try something else."

Gia took the knife and pressed it against Murtagh's chest.

"You… won't… find… out… anything." whispered Murtagh and a weak smile appeared on his face.

"You think?" Gia whispered and pressed the knife more so it cut through Murtagh's skin, making him close his eyes for a moment.

"You still don't want to tell?" smiled Gia and slowly moved the knife lower, making a bloody line. Murtagh clenched his teeth and Gia could hear his heart beating fast. Suddenly Gia realized that the blood got onto her dress and she moved away quickly.

"Shit!" said Gia angrily and looked at Murtagh "I don't like to have a dirty dress! It's your fault!"

Gia whispered something in ancient language and crashed Murtagh against the wall. She did it again and again until he fell down unconscious. Gia got to him and checked is he still breathing.

"Waíse heill." she said and healed the wounds but Murtagh didn't open his eyes "Oh, shit! I hope I didn't kill him."

Gia got nervous because it seemed like Murtagh is not breathing. Finally she healed all the wounds but nothing happened. Gia got the water that was standing in the corner and spilled it on Murtagh. At the moment when she turned around to look for something, she felt something cold against her neck and Murtagh's hand around her waist.

"Wow, you're alive." Gia rolled her eyes and whispered something in ancient language, making the knife in Murtagh's hand melt and pushing him away from her.

"Did you really think you can kill a magician?" Gia looked at him and smiled.

"I could have killed you if I wanted." said Murtagh "You were too slow."

"Huh." Gia smiled bitterly "I think I'm going to call the king to deal with you."

Murtagh was looking around to find something to confuse Gia but she just smiled and destroyed everything that was on the floor.

"What now?" asked Murtagh with a smile on his face "With what are you going to try to cut me now?"

"Shut up." she said "I'm still stronger than you. I healed your wounds but didn't give you too much energy. Oh, and not to forget, I can use magic!"

"Right. The only way you could win a fight would be cheating by using magic." he smiled.

"Huh." said Gia and got closer to him, pushing him against the wall.

"Is that the best you can do?" he laughed and grabbed her arm. Pulling her closer to him and pushing her against the wall in a second. Gia gasped and bit her lip, giving him a daring look. He held her arms pressed against the wall, waiting for her attack with magic but she just smiled and kept looking at him.

"You know…you could just let me leave." whispered Murtagh.

"And what do I get?" asked Gia.

"Anything you want." said Murtagh.

"No." smiled Gia "I don't want anything from you."

"Fine…then I'll just have to…" said Murtagh, trying to find a way to escape but it was hard to predict what Gia will do. She seemed too crazy. Suddenly Gia got closer to him while he was still holding her against the wall and kissed him. He let go of her surprised and she smiled, licking her lips.

"You see, it's so easy! I don't even need magic to make you let go of me." smiled Gia "I'm sorry, but I'm going to call the king."

Gia whispered something in ancient language, crashing Murtagh against the wall and went out of the dungeon.

"And?" the Twins waited impatiently in front of the door.

"He's hot." laughed Gia and they looked at her with shock and anger on their faces "I'm going to get the king, anything else is impossible."

"Huh." said the Twin "You can go and we will go to tell to the king."

"Whatever." said Gia and went down the hall.

"She's crazy." said one Twin behind her back.

"I heard that!" yelled Gia from the end of the hall.

* * *

Gia went out of the castle and decided to avoid her so called friends. She was walking around the castle, when she saw a black dragon flying above. It was Shruikan and he seemed to be again in the bad mood. Gia looked at the old dragon and rolled her eyes.

"_I wish I had a dragon. That would be a lot of fun._" thought Gia and decided to visit her old friend who lived near. While she was walking down the street she could see people looking at her and talking. They were all avoiding her since one of her friends died because Galbatorix was the only reason why she wasn't accused for a murder. Gia finally got to the restaurant that her friend had.

"Hey, Gia!" said Nick with a friendly smile on his face.

"Hey." Gia smiled too, trying not to roll her eyes on Nick's smile. She knew that he's her friend just because he gets her money.

"What can I give you?" smiled Nick, forgetting on all other people.

"Something strong." said Gia and sat on the tall chair, looking at Nick who was reaching for a bottle "Give me that!"

"Whole bottle?" smiled Nick; it wasn't really a question "What happened?"

"Didn't you hear? The Twins brought Morzan's son to the castle." said Gia, taking the bottle in her hand.

"Yes, I heard. There were some soldiers over here." said Nick curiously "But no one really told me…how he looks? I never saw him actually."

"Uh, you don't want to know. He's…perfect." said Gia and drank a bit "Ouh, this is strong!"

"You wanted it, dear." smiled Nick "So you like him?"

"I kissed him." said Gia, shaking her head.

"What?" asked Nick surprised "How was that?"

"Hot, wet and bloody." laughed Gia.

"No, I meant how you got that close to him?" asked Nick, always wanting to know everything.

"The Twins wanted me to break into his mind." said Gia and drank more.

"Did you do it?" asked Nick curiously.

"No, I failed." said Gia "He pretended he's dead."

"What will Galbatorix say on that?" asked Nick.

"Nothing. It wasn't my task to do that anyway. And I don't think king will mind. I bet he knew it from the beginning that no one else than him can break Murtagh." said Gia and started to laugh "You should have seen his face!"

"Gia, do you want another one?" asked Nick and looked at her.

"What?" she looked confused at him and he just pointed at the empty bottle in her hand "Oh, shit. No, I think I'm going to get back to the castle."

"Are you sure?" smiled Nick.

"Yes." said Gia and almost fell down from the chair "Huh. Put that on my bill."

"Sure." said Nick "Do you need help? I can send someone to go with you."

"No." Gia gave him an angry look and tried to stand "See you."

"Bye!" said Nick after her as she tried to find the way out. It wasn't the first time that she comes out of the place drunk so she found the way to the castle, laughing at the people who were looking at her. Finally she got to the castle and one soldier approached her to say something but she just fell down in his arms.

"Just take her to her room." said another soldier. They were all used to that.

* * *

"What are we going to do with him?" asked on of the Twins and looked at king who had a stoned expression on his face.

"You useless creatures!" yelled Galbatorix and pushed them away from the dungeon then he looked at Murtagh who was sitting in the corner and looking angrily at him.

"Why can't you just be nice and tell me everything?" Galbatorix made a big step forward.

"Never." said Murtagh with a serious look on his face.

"Tell me at least why you are doing this. You know I'm going to break into your mind anyway." said Galbatorix "But no…you prefer to sit here in your own blood…I have no intention to kill you but I can take you so close to death as many times as I want."

"No!" said Murtagh, trying to catch his breath when Galbatorix attacked his mind.

"Stronger than I expected." said Galbatorix more to himself, then an evil smile appeared on his face "But I haven't even started yet."

Murtagh clenched his teeth as the pain in his head was growing and growing. Galbatorix smiled and continued the attack…one minute passed…two minutes…three minutes…Murtagh closed his eyes, not being able to breath…four minutes…five minutes…the pressure on his mind was too big…six minutes…he couldn't take it anymore. Murtagh's mind barriers fell like a glass broken in millions of little pieces. Galbatorix laughed as he took every memory Murtagh ever had.

"That's all I wanted." said Galbatorix, laughed once again and left.

"Why…?" whispered Murtagh, resting his head against the wall and taking a deep breath. Now he knew exactly how it feels to loose the last thing you have…the thing that keeps you alive. It didn't matter to him anymore what will happen next and what plans Galbatorix has for him. His eyes didn't show the pain or sadness anymore, they showed simply nothing…emptiness.

* * *

"Umm…let go of me…" said Gia half sleeping while the soldier was carrying her to her room.

"Gia, you can't…" said the soldier but she kicked him and he dropped her.

"Ouch!" said Gia when she fell down on the floor. The soldier helped her to get up and guided her to the room. In the middle of the hall, Gia stopped, smiled at the soldier and threw up.

"Eww, Gia!" yelled the soldier angrily "That's disgusting!"

Gia just continued to walk to her room, laughing. The soldier didn't want to follow her.

"Shit!" the soldier heard Gia hitting into the wall, probably missing the door and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm ok, I'm ok." said Gia and entered the room "…I think…"

The soldier heard some noise from Gia's room, probably a few things broken, but he didn't feel like checking on her. He was already angry enough on her for destroying his clothes. Gia just fell down on her bed and fell asleep.


	2. The bet

**Author's note: **Gia's name came to me while I was going through long name lists. It seemed to fit perfectly. I also looked for a meaning but there is nothing for sure, only I found it could be Italian origin. And yes, I heard the name before…it was used in some movie or something I saw on TV.

* * *

"Get up, Gia!" said the maid who entered the room and removed the curtains from the windows, letting that little bit of light in the room.

"Argh, fuck!" said Gia, covering her eyes with her arm "Go away!"

"No, Gia! You have to get up!" said the maid and grabbed Gia's arm "Uh, what were you doing last night? You smell horrible!"

"Fuck off!" said Gia, getting curtains back down with magic and looked angrily at the maid "Who told you to play with your life?"

"Come on, Gia. You're awake anyway." smiled the maid "The king wants to see you."

"The king? Shit!" said Gia nervously and almost fell from her bed "Get out!"

"Fine." said the maid and went out while Gia was throwing things around, searching for a clean dress.

"Ugh." said Gia, placing her hands on her head because she felt sharp pain "I'm a magician, damn it! Why do I have to feel so horrible after little bit of partying?"

Finally she found a dress under a lot of other things and put it on. She looked at herself in the mirror and almost screamed.

"I need to fix this!" said Gia and used magic to cover dark blue bags under her eyes. She went with her hands through her hair rapidly and hurried to get to the throne room. When she got there, Galbatorix gave her a furious look.

"Where were you all this time?" yelled Galbatorix.

"My king…I'm sorry." said Gia, looking at the floor.

"Ah, whatever." said Galbatorix and rolled his eyes. Finally Gia realized that the Twins are standing in the corner with Murtagh.

"So…" said Galbatorix looking at the Twins "…you said that the name of Eragon's mother was Selena? Interesting."

"Yes." said one Twin, while they were both smiling, proud of what they've done "I saw it in Eragon's mind."

"That would mean Eragon is Murtagh's brother." said Galbatorix and started to laugh. Murtagh looked totally shocked.

"Gia!" said Galbatorix "Get the egg!"

"The egg?" Gia looked at him surprised.

"Dragon egg!" yelled Galbatorix annoyed "Right there!"

"Oh, that…" said Gia and immediately hurried to get the egg. After some moments Gia returned but without a thing in her hands.

"Where is the egg?" asked Galbatorix shocked.

"Red or green?" asked Gia, smiling stupidly.

"Just bring one!" yelled Galbatorix and sighed. The Twins started to laugh quietly but then Galbatorix gave them an angry look.

"Here it is, my king." said Gia, holding the red egg in her hands.

"Murtagh, come here." said Galbatorix "Let's see what will happen."

Murtagh got close to Gia and she gave him the egg while having a seductive smile on her face. The egg started to shake in Murtagh's hands and finally hatched. Everything in the room went quiet when little red head appeared and looked curiously at Murtagh. He was just standing there, unable to move from surprise when the little dragon spread his wings and broke the rest of the egg. The little dragon looked at Murtagh again and finally bit his hand, leaving gedwëy ignasia on his palm. Gia looked curiously at the baby dragon; her eyes were shining. It was the first time that she sees a baby dragon making someone a Rider.

"Now…when you're a Dragon Rider and you got a nice male baby dragon, you will serve me." said Galbatorix "…if you plan to keep the dragon, of course."

In that moment Galbatorix whispered something in ancient language and the little dragon was in the air, trying to move but he couldn't do anything. Finally the baby dragon let out a crying roar.

"Stop it." said Murtagh, ready to do anything to keep the dragon.

"Good. You must swear your loyalty to me in ancient language." said Galbatorix, happy that everything goes according to his plan. Murtagh just said all Galbatorix told him to say and little dragon was released from Galbatorix's magic.

"Twins, Gia…you can go now." said Galbatorix and they left the room, leaving Galbatorix with Murtagh and baby dragon.

"What he's going to do?" asked Gia one of the Twins but they pretended like they don't hear her and just left down the hall.

* * *

Gia decided to visit Nick again. There were so many things she wanted to share with someone, no matter with who but still Nick was the best option. While going down the street she yelled to some people that they should be careful because there is another dragon who just waits to eat them. People stared at her in horror and she just laughed.

"Gia! I was waiting for you!" said Nick nervously.

"Oh, really? I'll tell you all." said Gia as Nick got close to her to hear better and she just gave him an angry smile "Give me the drink first!"

"Oh, yeah, sure." said Nick and gave her the first bottle that got under his hand.

"Listen carefully. We have a new Dragon Rider!" whispered Gia with a smile on her face "I saw a dragon hatching!"

"Wow!" Nick's eyes widened with surprise "Who's the Rider?"

"Murtagh!" said Gia "You should see the dragon! It's male! And the color…maybe it was just me…but that wine color! Ah, totally crazy!"

"You want to say that perfect man got a perfect dragon…and you want…?" smiled Nick.

"Both!" said Gia "This is so so…I don't know what to say…exciting!"

"Do you think the Dragon Rider is easy to get?" suddenly asked Nick.

"I don't know." said Gia and laughed "I still remember his face when I kissed him! So funny!"

"Do you want to bet? He seems to be not easy to get. So if you get him in your bed, you win." smiled Nick.

"Wow, wow, wow. Last time you made me bet on something I lost my mum's necklace!" said Gia and then pulled him closer and whispered "I had to kill to get it back! What do I get if I win?"

"You win free drink for a week. As much as you want." smiled Nick "And if you don't do it in two months, I win and you pay double for ten bottles of anything you want."

"Is that what you offer to all ladies? How dare you?" said Gia, faking surprise and shock.

"Oh, shut up! You're not a lady!" laughed Nick.

"Ok, I accept." smiled Gia and they shook hands "But tell about this to anyone and you can say goodbye to life."

"Ok." said Nick "Good luck!"

"Do you think I will need it?" smiled Gia and headed for the door, dropping the bottle from her hand which fell down on the floor with loud sound.

"Hey! What was that for?" asked Nick, not liking the idea of cleaning up the mess.

"You said I'm not a lady, so there you got!" said Gia and went out, pretending offended.

* * *

Gia was walking back to Galbatorix's castle when she saw a big red dragon flying above.

"What the fuck?" said Gia surprised, rubbing her eyes to make sure she's not seeing things. She immediately ran to the castle and saw Murtagh and Galbatorix standing outside and looking at the dragon. Soldiers and magicians were everywhere around to make sure Galbatorix is safe. After some moments Gia saw Shruikan flying with the red dragon.

"What happened here?" asked Gia to one soldier "That dragon was a baby and now is…well huge!"

"King's magic." whispered the soldier.

"Huh, good thing." smiled Gia and realized Galbatorix is calling her to come closer.

"Yes, my king?" asked Gia.

"You'll be helping to Murtagh." said Galbatorix.

"Helping?" asked Gia surprised.

"Yes, you're going to help Murtagh to see better what are we doing and how. Battle things." said Galbatorix.

"Yes, my king." said Gia even she wasn't sure what exactly the king wanted from her but it seemed like he doesn't know either.

"You can both go now." said Galbatorix and went back to the castle, lost in his thoughts.

"Ok, what now?" asked Gia and looked at Murtagh.

"I don't know." said Murtagh "Don't you know?"

"Shit!" said Gia "I'm not sure. I guess…well, let's just walk around, ok? We can talk or something…"

"Ok." said Murtagh and they started to walk "What's your name?"

"Gia." she said and smiled "I'm one of Galbatorix's magicians as you probably already know."

"Yes, I noticed that first time we met." said Murtagh with a bitter smile.

"Good." said Gia "I think you'll easily become a part of this. You have a dragon and that will make you popular here for sure!"

"Popular?" Murtagh looked surprised at her.

"Yes, other magicians and soldiers will probably admire you. Or envy you. Galbatorix will let you lead the army, I think." said Gia and smiled.

"What about you? Do you envy me?" asked Murtagh with a mysterious smile on his face.

"Yes. You're the one having that beautiful dragon." said Gia "But I'm surprised by something. You looked so lost and depressed earlier this day and now you look like a completely different person."

"His name is Thorn." said Murtagh.

"Thorn?" asked Gia "Oww, that's cute."

"Cute?" Murtagh looked at her surprised.

"Yes." said Gia "So you don't like to talk about yourself?"

"Actually you're supposed to help me." said Murtagh "How did you become Galbatorix's magician?"

"That will help you?" Gia gave him a questioning look "Well I came here looking for a job and I got it."

"Do you like it?" asked Murtagh and looked deep into her eyes.

"Yes, it's great. Working for the king is a special and important thing." said Gia.

"Huh." said Murtagh "Do you know anything about sword fighting?"

"No, that's not my thing." said Gia "I tried…but I broke my nail and gave up."

"Seriously?" Murtagh raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." said Gia showing him her dark nails "You see? Perfection!"

"Um, I guess." said Murtagh "So what's your role in the battle except torturing people?"

"My role? Well like every other magician; stopping opponent magicians and kill as many opponents as you can." said Gia with a playful smile on her face "Everything for the Empire!"

"Right." said Murtagh and looked at the sky, suddenly smiling.

"What?" asked Gia surprised.

"Nothing. Just talking with Thorn." said Murtagh.

"That must be great." said Gia "I always liked dragons and they always hatch for wrong persons."

"Do you think I'm the wrong person for this?" laughed Murtagh.

"Yeah, because you're not me." said Gia and smiled. Suddenly one soldier ran to them and gave a piece of paper to Gia who gave him a questioning look.

"It's from your mother." said the soldier and went away.

"Oh, shit." said Gia, looking at the paper.

"What's wrong?" asked Murtagh.

"I actually promised to my parents I'll come to visit them…just I didn't remember it until now, huh." said Gia "Do you have any idea of a perfect lie for this situation?"

"Maybe that you didn't have time because you were busy with torturing me?" asked Murtagh and smiled.

"Umm, something like that... just the Twins already spoiled all the fun!" she laughed.

"Fun?" Murtagh rolled his eyes.

"I'll just deal with this later." said Gia and threw the paper in the air, burning it with magic.

"Ok." said Murtagh "Would you like to show me some more magic?"

"Later, ok?" said Gia "I have to do something now. Don't believe in anything they say about me here and you can come to my room this night so I can show you something."

"Fine." said Murtagh, looking surprised "See you then."

"Yeah, sure." said Gia.

* * *

Gia hurried to see Nick again. He just looked at her and didn't even smile, still didn't forgive her for making a mess.

"What do you want now?" asked Nick.

"Just give me something, I'm freaking out!" said Gia.

"Why?" asked Nick now more interested, giving her a drink.

"I don't know what I'm saying anymore! When I'm around him, I feel like whole world is spinning around." said Gia "I think I like him."

"Dear, you're crazy about him!" laughed Nick "Why did you come here then? Go back and get him!"

"I came because…I don't know how to act with him! I don't know what he likes and I don't want to ruin everything with jumping on him." said Gia "I don't know even on whose side he is."

"Like that is important." said Nick.

"Yeah, well I called him to come to my room tonight." said Gia.

"Are you crazy? What kind of invitation is that?" said Nick.

"Nothing special, he just wanted me to show him some magic." smiled Gia.

"Showing magic in your room?" Nick rolled his eyes "Maybe you just ruined every chance to be with him."

"I hope not." said Gia "And what if he is as crazy as me?"

"Then you're meant to be!" laughed Nick and took the drink away from Gia.

"Hey!" she said upset.

"No, no! You can't seduce him drunk!" said Nick "You see, I'm a nice guy and I'm helping you!"

"Yeah, whatever." said Gia and left.

* * *

Murtagh was walking around the castle and thinking when one man approached him.

"Hello, you must be Murtagh. I'm Owen." said the tall man with dark brown hair "I saw you talking with Gia."

"And?" Murtagh gave him a questioning look.

"I suggest you to stay away from her." said Owen.

"Why?" asked Murtagh.

"She's a dangerous girl." said Owen "Did you know that her last boyfriend is dead?"

"Why would I care?" asked Murtagh annoyed.

"Well, you don't want to fell in love with that kind of girl." said Owen.

"If that's all you have to say, fuck off." said Murtagh bitterly.

"Fine!" said Owen and left.

* * *

The night came and Gia was sitting nervously in her room, unsure what to do. Suddenly the door opened slowly.

"Can I come in?" asked Murtagh.

"Sure." smiled Gia as he got in the room.

"Interesting room." said Murtagh, looking around.

"Um, thanks." said Gia "I have some books about magic in that corner."

"Ok." said Murtagh, taking the books "Can I borrow some?"

"Yeah, sure. I don't need them anymore." said Gia "I got them from my parents as birthday gifts."

"Nice." smiled Murtagh.

"I can show you some magic, if you want. But I prefer we go out for that. It's nice and dark outside and I know a perfect place for practicing magic." said Gia "I already destroyed my room enough, you see the black walls."

"Sure. But will the soldiers be there?" asked Murtagh.

"No, we can go closer to the river. The king's soldiers don't go there." said Gia.

"Good." said Murtagh "Let's go then. I'll take the books later when we get back."

They went out in the dark while soldiers were watching them surprised and Gia guided Murtagh to one dark blue river in the woods. It was very dark there and only light came from the moon. The air was cold and the only sound they could hear was the sound of the river. Gia looked around and used magic on some things, explaining to Murtagh what she was doing and he tried it too.

"Ok, I see you have experience with this." said Gia after some time.

"Not really, but I knew some things about magic before I could use it." said Murtagh.

"I'm getting tired." said Gia and put her hands in the air, suddenly running to the river.

"What are you doing?" Murtagh asked her surprised when she threw herself in the river.

"It's great! Come!" she said and looked at him.

"No." said Murtagh but Gia whispered something in ancient language and he ended up next to her.

"You can't say no to me!" she laughed.

"Hey!" he said angrily and pushed her under the water. Gia gasped and kicked him to let go of her. Finally he pulled her into his arms and she tried to remove water from her eyes.

"Ok, this was…" Gia stopped in the middle of the sentence, looking deep into his eyes. His hand went through her wet hair as he pulled her closer and kissed her passionately. Gia looked at him for a moment and then pulled off his black shirt in a second. He kissed her again, gently touching her face. Gia closed her eyes and Murtagh started to kiss her neck. Suddenly Murtagh ripped her dark dress a bit and Gia shivered from cold wind. They kissed again while Murtagh was trying to rip the rest of her dress. Gia suddenly moved away from him with a mysterious smile on her face, fixing her now half ripped dress. He looked at her surprised.

"Not now." she smiled and bit her lip. Gia just turned around and started walking back to the castle.

* * *

"What were you thinking?" almost yelled Nick when he heard Gia's story about last night. Gia was the first guest in the restaurant because no one comes so early as she came the next day.

"He was there…so perfect…and so warm…and I could have taken him right there." smiled Gia "But I didn't."

"But why?" asked Nick.

"I want to drive him crazy." smiled Gia.

"Why you have to be so stupid?" said Nick "Do you remember what happened last time you tried this?"

"I know. The guy ran away without thinking." Gia rolled her eyes "But with Murtagh it won't be like that. At least he can't run away."

"Good point. But still I think you did wrong." said Nick, crossing his arms.

"Think what you want." said Gia annoyed and went.

"Gia!" someone called from across the street while Gia was walking back to the castle. She turned around and saw a young blond girl there.

"What do you want, Alicia?" asked Gia when the girl got closer.

"I just came to tell you in the name of all ladies of this town that we won't let you ruin our lives!" said Alicia.

"What are you talking about?" Gia laughed and pulled Alicia with her behind one house.

"You're acting horrible! You go around dressed like a whore and you act like a man! We don't care you're a magician. Your bad example has to stop. Stop playing with our husband's minds." said Alicia, not even breathing.

"Oh, I am a bad example?" said Gia ironically "First, I don't give a fuck that you don't have money or can't use magic to make a sexy dress. Second, you don't have right to say anything to me because you're gossiping and have thousand of lovers!"

"You can do whatever you want but act like a decent woman in public." said Alicia nervously "And you can't kill me because everyone would know it was you."

"Huh, I don't know what are you talking about…me not being a decent woman in public? You and your nice little group of annoying chickens can go fuck yourself because you can't change me." said Gia "I don't care what you think…I don't care what anyone thinks…so leave me alone! But I must admit you keep surprising me with new ideas what to tell me!"

"It's still not too late for you to be friends with us." said Alicia.

"You're funny." said Gia and looked at her "You said I can't kill you, why are you shaking then?"

"I'm not." said Alicia, trying to go away but Gia stepped in front of her and made her take a step back.

"You are afraid because I'm a magician." smiled Gia.

"Let me go." said Alicia nervously. Gia smiled and pressed Alicia against the wall.

"You…made me…angry." said Gia.

"Please, let me go! Please! Please!" cried Alicia "Please don't hurt me!"

"Oh, how nice! But I'm not letting you go without something…you said I act like a man." said Gia, putting her hand around Alicia's neck. Suddenly Gia laughed and kissed Alicia.

"A kiss of death." said Gia with a mysterious smile on her face. Alicia was now screaming and crying and she ran down the street when Gia moved away.

"Yuk." said Gia to herself, spitting and cleaning her mouth "I wonder did I just ruin her life forever! She'll have nightmares!"

Gia went back to the castle, still laughing about crazy ideas women had in the town. They already tried so many ways to freak her out but never succeeded. Suddenly Gia heard a loud roar and looked up. There were two dragons fighting and flying so fast like she never saw before. After some moments the red dragon started to fall down, looking badly hurt. Gia stared at him in shock.


	3. Night of passion

**Author's note: **I looked again for more info about Gia's name...on one page I found it could be shorter for Gianna, maybe.

* * *

"Rïsa." said Gia and the dragon stopped falling down just few inches before the ground. Gia stared at the creature in front of her, not knowing what to do next. Finally she stopped the magic and the dragon just jumped on the ground. 

"_Are you ok?_" asked Gia, getting closer to Thorn and slowly touching his head.

"_Yes._" said Thorn, looking surprised.

"_What happened?_" asked Gia and smiled.

"_Nothing._" said Thorn, not in the mood to talk about it "_Shruikan is stupid!_"

"_Yeah, well sometimes._" laughed Gia.

"_I have to go!_" said Thorn, looking behind Gia's back and got back in the air. Gia immediately turned around and saw Murtagh who didn't seem to be happy.

"What were you doing?" asked Murtagh in a cold voice.

"Saving your dragon from serious injuries!" said Gia with worried look on her face.

"Thank you for that but you were talking to him!" said Murtagh upset.

"So?" Gia gave him a questioning look.

"I don't want you to talk with my dragon!" said Murtagh, looking angry.

"It's not like I was asking him something about you!" said Gia "You don't have to be so possessive!"

"Listen to me, Gia!" said Murtagh angrily and suddenly placed his hand tightly around Gia's neck "I don't know how did you learn to do that, but don't do it in the future."

Gia gasped in shock because all her attempts to get free were useless. It seemed like Murtagh was using some more powerful magic that stopped all her attacks. Finally he let go of her and she tried to catch her breath. He just started to walk away.

"Fine!" said Gia after him "You don't have to kill me for that!"

Gia kept looking angrily at him but he didn't even turn around to look at her.

"Shit!" said Gia, touching her neck and hurried to get to Nick.

* * *

"Gia! I didn't expect to see you so soon." said Nick with a smile on his face. 

"Do I have something on my neck?" asked Gia upset.

"Umm, looks normal. Why?" Nick asked surprised.

"I save his dragon and he tries to kill me!" yelled Gia angrily.

"Wow, really?" Nick looked at her and gave her a bottle "Tell me all about it."

Gia immediately told him what happened and he looked surprised.

"Huh, he's so weird. Maybe you should stay away from him." said Nick.

"And let you win the bet?" asked Gia "No!"

"Then you'll have to find a way…magic maybe?" Nick looked at her.

"No, I don't know what Galbatorix showed him but it's like ten times stronger than my magic." said Gia "I just don't…"

"What?" Nick asked when Gia suddenly stopped in the middle of the sentence and smiled.

"Do you still sell…you know…?" Gia said with mysterious smile on her face.

"Yes, but don't speak so loud!" said Nick nervously.

"Then I'll get him here…and it will be perfect." smiled Gia.

"Find a way how to get him here." said Nick.

"Let's see what I can do." said Gia and headed for the door.

"Gia!" called Nick. He just raised an eyebrow when she turned around.

"What?" Gia looked at him surprised.

"The bottle! You can't have this with you if you want him to get here!" said Nick.

"Umm, right." said Gia and threw the bottle to him.

* * *

Days were passing but Gia still didn't get some free time with Murtagh because he was all the time with the king. Every day Gia and Nick tried to make a perfect plan but always something went wrong. Gia was getting more and more nervous about it and almost ended up in the river while walking drunk to the castle. 

"Nick, this is not working!" said Gia frustrated "The king doesn't move away from him!"

"Then get them both here!" laughed Nick.

"Shut up!" Gia rolled her eyes "This is not funny."

Nick laughed and passed her another drink. After some minutes he gave her a questioning look.

"Ok, it is funny!" Gia laughed "I…just…oh!"

Nick managed to catch Gia so she doesn't fall on the floor. But she just continued to laugh and put her hands on Nick's shoulders.

"You know…me…do it." laughed Gia "You good…good…"

"I obviously gave you too much drink, come on!" said Nick "It's late. I have to close."

"Close?" Gia looked at him with funny expression on her face "Nah, I want…party!"

"Gia!" said Nick and let go of her so she just sat down on the floor and laughed again. Suddenly the door opened and Gia looked surprised at the man who entered.

"We're closing. How can I help you?" asked Nick surprised.

"Gia!" said Murtagh "They told me I can find you here."

"Oh, my prince on a red dragon!" laughed Gia "...came to save me!"

"Galbatorix sent me to get you back to the castle." said Murtagh and tried to help her to get up. Gia just kept smiling stupidly and almost fell down again.

"You must be Murtagh." said Nick with excitement "Why don't you come for a drink sometime?"

"Yes, why don't you? He's the best!" Gia gave him a questioning look and then started to laugh like crazy.

"Gia, come on. We have to go." said Murtagh coldly.

"Noooo." said Gia and stopped laughing, looking scared "No, Nick…don't let him take me…he's going to kill me!"

"Gia, you're drunk! And I don't have time to loose with you!" said Murtagh angrily "You're coming with me! I don't care do you like it or not!"

"Fuck you! Leave me alone!" yelled Gia, but he didn't let go of her. She tried to use magic but in her condition it was impossible to remember the words.

"Let's go." said Murtagh and pulled her roughly to the door. Nick just stared at them, not saying anything. Gia felt dizzy and she closed her eyes, almost falling down but Murtagh kept holding her. Suddenly he took her in his arms and carried her out.

"See you!" said Nick behind them, still excited about seeing a Rider.

"Let go of me." said Gia quietly while Murtagh was carrying her back to the castle. The night was cold and the sky was surprisingly clear. It was totally dark and quiet that it seemed the town was abandoned. The guards didn't even move when they saw Murtagh and Gia; they just ignored them.

"I won't let go of you." said Murtagh "Not until we get to the castle."

"Umm…" said Gia, suddenly feeling sleepy.

"Now I see why no one else wanted to go to find you." said Murtagh.

"They are stupid…" said Gia quietly while Murtagh was carrying her to her room, finally putting her down on her bed.

"Stay with me." whispered Gia and smiled at him.

"No." said Murtagh coldly and went out of the room, not even looking at her.

"Well fuck you!" yelled Gia after him, but yelling just made her feel dizzier. She just closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning Gia woke up with headache so she decided to stay in bed for some time more. Finally when she recovered from the last night, she went outside the castle and saw Murtagh who was standing there and looking at the woods. The sun was already getting down. 

"Hey." said Gia when she got closer to him.

"Hey." said Murtagh, not even looking at her.

"I just…" said Gia and looked at his dark eyes, realizing that they look so empty.

"What?" said Murtagh and finally looked at her, sounding annoyed.

"I'm sorry for yesterday." said Gia quietly.

"Sorry, huh?" said Murtagh coldly and again looked away.

"Are you mad at me?" asked Gia.

"No!" said Murtagh annoyed; his face serious "Why would I be?"

"Fine!" said Gia, getting angry.

"You're ruining your life." suddenly said Murtagh.

"Huh." Gia rolled her eyes.

"It's true." said Murtagh "You should think about it."

"Then come with me and stop me!" said Gia and started to run.

"Gia!" yelled Murtagh after her but then followed her. He almost caught her but she managed to get into Nick's restaurant before he broke her magic protection.

"Gia!" said Nick surprised while she was trying to catch her breath. She just smiled and then Nick saw Murtagh coming in.

"Gia, not again." said Murtagh "I'm taking you back to the castle."

"No, you're not. When we are here already, we can drink something. I won't take too much." smiled Gia "Please!"

"Ok, but just one glass." said Murtagh and Gia just smiled. Then Gia got closer to Nick while he was taking a glass and he showed her something he had in his pocket.

"Let me help you." said Gia to Nick, and gave him a sign to stand behind her so Murtagh can't see. Gia opened a little bag with something and put it in the glass with the drink. She took the glass and gave it to Murtagh. Then she sat next to him and took her drink.

"So what were you doing with the king today?" asked Gia "I think I saw Thorn flying next to my window."

"Magic is a very special thing." said Murtagh and his eyes shined "There are so many secrets and ways to use…it's amazing."

"Yes, the king knows a lot about magic." said Gia "Just he doesn't like to share."

"So he didn't show that to you?" Murtagh raised an eyebrow.

"Something yes." said Gia "But it would be too dangerous for him to show us too much because of spies magicians."

"Was there someone between magicians who was spying?" asked Murtagh.

"Yeah." said Gia "Some months ago."

"And what happened?" asked Murtagh.

"Nothing. Galbatorix found out, I killed the guy." said Gia and smiled "All fine."

"So you actually are like a leader of magicians?" asked Murtagh.

"Well, sometimes. Depends what has to be done." smiled Gia and realized that Murtagh's glass is empty. She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. Nick realized what is going on and gave Gia a sign it's time to go back to the castle.

"Murtagh, I think we should go." said Gia, trying to look normal but she couldn't help it. The excitement was too big to control it.

"Ok." said Murtagh and Gia smiled at Nick. While they were walking back to the castle, Murtagh and Gia didn't say a word to each other. There was a weird silence between them and no one wanted to stop it. Gia was afraid that Murtagh will realize what she did so she just walked faster and he followed her.

"I need to speak with you for a moment." said Gia when they got to the castle.

"Sure." said Murtagh, feeling little bit confused.

"Would you come to my room?" asked Gia "Just to be in private."

"Ok." said Murtagh and followed her to her room. When they got in, Gia just locked the door and Murtagh looked surprised at her. Gia smiled and got closer to him, touching gently his lips with her finger. He tried to push her away but she whispered something in ancient language and he couldn't move. Gia just smiled and pushed him on the bed. She started to laugh when she saw his confused face.

"No, you can't use magic." she smiled and licked her lips "You are mine."

"Gia, this is crazy…" said Murtagh but she was already on top of him and kissed him passionately.

"You know what?" smiled Gia, running her fingers through his hair "I…think…you're hot."

"Gia, don't do this." said Murtagh.

"Shut up. I didn't ask for your opinion, honey." smiled Gia, taking off shirt.

"Would you at least stop using magic on me?" asked Murtagh annoyed.

"Will you try to escape?" asked Gia with a playful smile on her face.

"Come on, you drugged me!" said Murtagh and looked at her.

"Well, all right." finally said Gia, removing the spell. She looked at Murtagh for a moment, waiting for his reaction. Murtagh immediately got up from the bed and got closer to Gia who was standing next to the door.

"That's not fair." Murtagh whispered, pulling her into his arms and making her to turn around. He was now standing behind her back, leaning towards her neck. Gia shivered when his warm lips touched her neck. He kept kissing her neck for a moment.

"I don't like that dress you are wearing." whispered Murtagh and she turned around to face him. Gia just stood there while her heart was beating like crazy. Murtagh smiled, taking the knife, which was standing next to her bed, in his hand and Gia just kept looking at him. With few swift moves he cut her dress and it fell down on the floor in pieces together with the knife.

"It's still not fair." said Gia with a smile on her face, looking at his pants "Take it off."

Murtagh smiled and did what she told him to, not moving his eyes away from her. Then he got closer to her and looked deep into her eyes. Suddenly they started to kiss passionately. Gia could feel her body temperature rising from the touch of his warm lips and his tongue in her mouth. He pushed her against the wall, running his fingers down her breasts. He kept pushing her against the wall and lifted her up. She put her legs around his waist as they were kissing. Their breathing became faster and deeper. Murtagh carried her to the bed and laid her down. He got on top of her, pressing his muscular body against hers. His lips were everywhere, making her moan from pleasure. Murtagh moved his hand down fast, putting her legs apart. Gia bit her lip to stop herself from screaming when he began his forceful movements. She dug her nails into his back as they got lost in the wave of passion.

* * *

The next morning Gia opened her eyes and saw Murtagh sitting on the bed. He seemed to be upset because his breathing was fast. She yawned and set up in the bed, but Murtagh didn't even look at her. He just kept staring at the wall, thinking about something. Gia thought that he's maybe talking to Thorn. She moved closer to him and touched the white scar on his muscular tanned back. Suddenly Murtagh moved away from her like she touched him with fire. 

"Don't do that!" said Murtagh angrily.

"Oh, come on! Don't be so sensitive." said Gia "That scar is awesome!"

"What?" Murtagh looked at her in shock.

"It makes you look dangerous. Oh, and your back…is hot!" laughed Gia but Murtagh just rolled his eyes. Suddenly the door opened and the maid entered the room. The old lady gasped when she saw Gia and Murtagh.

"I'm sorry." said the woman, getting out of the room.

"Wait!" said Gia with a mysterious smile on her face, slowly getting out of the bed. Murtagh just looked at her and then Gia whispered something that he couldn't hear well. In a second the woman fell down on the floor.

"What did you do?" asked Murtagh.

"I don't want anyone to find out." said Gia "Just solving the problem."

"You killed her?" asked Murtagh while Gia opened the door, moving the body outside.

"Yeah." said Gia casually, closing the door.

"You're stupid." said Murtagh "You could have just put it all out of her memory."

"Umm, yeah. I didn't remember that." Gia rolled her eyes, getting closer to Murtagh and putting her arms around his neck "Kiss me."

"Ok. But I have to go." said Murtagh, putting his hands on her waist and pulling her closer for a kiss.

"Don't go." whispered Gia between kisses.

"Galbatorix is waiting for me." said Murtagh, pushing her away and getting his shirt.

"But…" tried to say Gia when Murtagh whispered something in ancient language and she crashed into the wall.

"What the fuck are you doing?" yelled Gia, fixing her messed up hair and looking angrily at Murtagh who was putting on his shirt.

"Just checking did drug stopped working." said Murtagh casually "See you."

"You knew it did…you spoke with Thorn!" said Gia angrily.

"Ups, right." smiled Murtagh and went out of the room.

"Stupid!" said Gia after him and then started to smile. She definitely won the bet, but was it just it? Finally she went to find a good dress that was still in one piece.


	4. Special task

"I did it." said Gia casually in the middle of her conversation with Nick that morning. She was again one of the first in the restaurant. Other people were simply too busy with their jobs.

"What?" asked Nick, cleaning some glasses and not paying attention too much.

"I won the bet." said Gia, staring at her glass and nervously shaking it in her hand.

"What?" Nick immediately looked at her in shock "And what is wrong with you? Why you didn't tell me?"

"Relax. I just told you." said Gia seriously.

"Hm, looks like no money for me from you…for a week!" said Nick, calculating unhappily how much will this bet cost him.

"Um, yeah." said Gia quietly.

"Wait, why are you so quiet? You won!" said Nick surprised.

"I'm freaking out." whispered Gia "I want him…his warm lips on mine…his…"

"Ok, ok. No more details!" smiled Nick "Is he that good?"

"He's perfect." said Gia and closed her eyes "His skin is like poison…"

"Oook." Nick laughed "You're overreacting. You're saying he's perfect…yes, I thought so. You're getting addicted to him!"

"That's not helping." said Gia with a sad look in her eyes "I think I love him."

"What? No!" laughed Nick "You don't love him. You just like sleeping with him."

"Yes, but I have some new feeling…something different." said Gia and gave him an angry look "Don't piss me off. I'm not in the mood."

"Sure. If you don't want to talk…" said Nick, immediately getting serious.

"I don't." said Gia and kept drinking. Hours were passing by and Gia just sit there and didn't pay attention to anything around her. Nick didn't try to talk to her because he was busy with more and more clients. Suddenly Gia just got up from her seat and headed for the door, avoiding looking at the people around her. She walked fast to the Galbatorix's castle, feeling nervous. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Murtagh and Galbatorix in front of the castle. Gia slowly walked to them, unsure will the king be angry if she does that.

"My king…" said Gia, looking at the ground and trying to make her voice sound normal "I just wanted to ask you do you need anything."

"Gia!" suddenly started to laugh Galbatorix "You came here right on time!"

"I did?" said Gia surprised, feeling Murtagh's eyes on her but avoiding to look at him.

"Yes, on time to tell you that I have a task for you." said Galbatorix.

"Yes, my king?" said Gia and looked straight into the king's dark eyes.

"You and Murtagh are going to get some secret information about Eragon." said the king "Our spies were near the Varden and know something, so you have to get that info. I don't want it to end up in wrong minds."

"Sure, my king." mysterious smile appeared on Gia's face "Do we need them for later?"

"No." said Galbatorix and his eyes had a strange shine, just like Gia's "Murtagh will explain you more."

Then the king just headed for the castle and suddenly Murtagh pulled Gia with him. He led her to the castle, holding roughly her arm all the time. When they reached the hall, Murtagh stopped and pushed her against the wall, kissing her passionately. Suddenly Gia pushed him away, looking angry and slapped him. Murtagh looked surprised at her and she looked at the servants who were standing at the end of the hall.

"I didn't let you to kiss me! I'm not your fucking servant so you can do with me what you want." said Gia, trying to look angry. Of course she couldn't wait for servants to get away from there because this entire scene was for them. She knew exactly what she wanted people to talk about. The servants started whispering something between them and finally left.

"Do you think I need to ask for permission?" laughed Murtagh.

"Come here." smiled Gia and touched her lips with her finger. Murtagh slowly got close to her. It was so quiet in the hall now that they could hear just their fast breathing. Gia closed her eyes, resting her head on the wall. Murtagh took a deep breath, his lips getting close to her neck but avoiding the touch. Gia bit her lip and opened her eyes to look at him.

"You…" whispered Murtagh into her ear "You belong to me."

In that moment Murtagh started to kiss her again, pressing his strong body against hers so she couldn't move.

"Is that…what you have to…explain me…about…our task?" asked Gia, trying to catch her breath when Murtagh started to kiss her neck.

"Just shut up." said Murtagh and pulled her dress down a bit.

"Hey! Stop it!" said Gia and tried to push him away but he was too strong for her.

"No!" laughed Murtagh "Anyway what's the hurry? We have time before going."

"Yes…but…" tried to say Gia when Murtagh kissed her again.

"What?" asked Murtagh and moved away from her.

"Just tell me what the king told you." said Gia, fixing her dress.

"Come on, Gia. Don't tell me you're so interested in our mission." laughed Murtagh.

"Huh." Gia rolled her eyes "It's not funny and it's not something you can play with."

"You're changing your mind quickly, I see." he said.

"We can't mess this up! Actually I can't mess this up!" she said nervously "The king will kill me. I killed one of his maids and if I fail…"

"That's your problem. You weren't thinking." simply said Murtagh.

"And don't think I'm sorry." said Gia and gave him an angry look.

"Fine, then let's go. I'll tell you everything on the way." said Murtagh, sure that he wants to get away from Galbatorix now, even for just a few days.

* * *

"So, if you're so afraid of the king, why don't you quit your job?" Murtagh asked while they were traveling to the small town where Galbatorix's spies were.

"It's not like that. When you have a talent, you have to use it to do the good things, you know." smiled Gia and made her horse to go faster. Their horses, black like the darkest night, were running fast through the green trees, breaking weak grass and branches under them. It seemed like all wild animals heard them coming and moved out of their way. The forest was so peaceful but still keeping something mysterious, making Gia nervous so she slowed down her horse.

"Good thing?" Murtagh raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, because we are going to win. We're going to keep our country safe." said Gia proudly.

"Safe?" asked Murtagh "With Galbatorix? Huh."

"Everything would be fine if those rebels just disappeared." said Gia bitterly.

"But they didn't do anything…and Galbatorix just lies and kills innocent people." said Murtagh.

"They are rebels! They made their choice and they deserve to die!" said Gia, raising her voice "Maybe our king is not perfect, but no one is! Do you really believe people are innocent? Oh, come on! Don't be so naïve!"

"What did the rebels do to you?" asked Murtagh. He found Gia's anger really amusing.

"They chose the wrong way. They want to destroy the Empire! You're so annoying." said Gia, frustrated.

"Wait, I think I get it!" laughed Murtagh "You simply hate people because they hate you!"

"Huh." Gia rolled her eyes "I don't care what you think!"

"Umm, you do, but never mind." said Murtagh "But if you hate people, do you like the elves then?"

"No." said Gia and narrowed her eyebrows "They are pathetic little perfect creatures who hide all the time…fucking cowards."

"Hm, you hate them because they are more beautiful than you?" laughed Murtagh.

"Hey! If you're so damn smart, why are you king's servant against your will?" she said and smiled. He didn't say anything. It seemed like a dark shadow covered his face for a moment. At first Gia was happy that she stopped him from asking more questions, but after some minutes of silence, it started to feel awkward.

"So since Thorn stayed at Urû'baen I guess you won't try to do something stupid." said Gia quietly, waiting for Murtagh's reaction.

"Fuck off." said Murtagh angrily.

"Now let me guess…you can't live without speaking to your dragon." smiled Gia "Don't worry, you'll survive. You have me!"

"With Thorn I can just cut the mental connection when I don't feel like talking." said Murtagh and looked at her "What can I do to make you stop talking?"

"Hey! It's not fair!" she said "And it's your fault anyway…you started the conversation."

"Yeah, right. My fault." said Murtagh "Why did Galbatorix send you to go with me, anyway?"

"Because I'm the best person to make sure you don't fuck up everything." Gia smiled.

"That's what you think!" he laughed "I think he sent you to go with me because he didn't want to see more of his servants dead!"

"Ok, will you stop bothering me with that maid over and over again?" she rolled her eyes "It's not funny anymore!"

"So you did kill your boyfriend, lover or whatever he was to you?" he gave her a questioning look.

"I didn't!" she said, her eyes shining like fire "I don't want to talk about it!"

"Come on, I want to know more. What happened?" asked Murtagh.

"Nothing!" said Gia angrily "But don't worry, I won't kill you."

"Huh." laughed Murtagh "Like you could."

"Do you think I couldn't?" she was now furious and stopped her horse. He stopped too and got down from the horse, gently touching the animal's neck.

"Yes…actually I'm sure you couldn't." smiled Murtagh at her.

"Don't piss me off." said Gia, walking around nervously.

"Ok." said Murtagh "Let's make a deal. Try to win a fight against me with magic…if you win, you get anything you want…if I win, I get anything I want…what do you say?"

"Fine." said Gia, looking at him provocatively. Murtagh just smiled at her like nothing is going on. That made Gia even more confused and nervous.

"Ready?" laughed Murtagh, looking straight into her dark eyes.

"Yes." said Gia through her teeth. She whispered something in ancient language and sent a small black ball of magic on Murtagh. He just moved away with a smile on his face, letting the magic hit the tree next to him.

"Is that it?" Murtagh teased her. Gia closed her eyes for a second, her lips moving fast and whispering another spell. She hoped he won't realize what she is trying to do. He didn't even move, waiting for her next attack. Finally Gia yelled something in ancient language, her whole body shaking. Murtagh was just standing still and some seconds before Gia's magic could reach him, he simply said one word. Gia stared at him at shock because he stopped her attack, holding the magic cloud still in front of him. Then he released it on her. She managed to jump aside and avoid it. Murtagh made a step forward, whispering something. His eyes were fixed on Gia who suddenly felt pressure in her chest. She gasped, trying to catch her breath but it wasn't possible. She panicked, not knowing what to do. After some seconds she fell down on her knees, looking around with wide eyes. Then she saw a bird falling dead from the tree. Murtagh was now standing in front of her and stopped the magic. Gia felt like her whole strength left her and she was just breathing hard, tears filling her eyes. Murtagh looked at her and then moved away, turning his back to her. She noticed he's also trying to catch his breath, probably because he did something more than he was supposed to.

"Well…you won." said Gia after some minutes of silence.

"Yes." said Murtagh, looking at the horses. They were now not so close to Murtagh and Gia, probably got scared of magic. Murtagh sighed and Gia looked first at him then in the direction of the horses.

"Shit!" said Gia upset "You could have killed them!"

"But I didn't." said Murtagh.

"Are you out of your mind? I know the king showed you things, but you can't control it so good yet!" she said, feeling her strength recovering completely.

"I know what I'm doing!" he yelled angrily.

"No, you don't!" she said "But oh, well, doesn't matter. You won, so what do you want?"

"We have to go." he said, his face serious "I want to get there in time."

"Umm, sure." said Gia surprised.

* * *

During the rest of their trip, they didn't say a word to each other. Every time Gia looked at Murtagh, he seemed like he is thinking hard about something and she just didn't know what to say. The night already took over the town when they reached it. The streets were dark and the only light was coming from the windows of small houses. Gia and Murtagh stopped and left their horses in front of the one large tavern. Everyone looked up at them when they entered. It was too visible they are strangers in this town. The tavern was full of light and it smelled like beer and humidity. There were many wooden tables but it was hard to find the empty one. Gia looked around a bit. The floor simply looked disgusting, covered with dirt and probably never cleaned. People now started to whisper about the newcomers. Gia could feel their eyes on her and she nervously looked around.

"They must be king's men…look at their clothes…" whispered one man to another.

"They could be dangerous…" said another man. After some moments all went back to normal. People stopped talking about Gia and Murtagh and just continued drinking and partying.

"What now?" asked Murtagh "Do you know who we are supposed to meet?"

"We wait." said Gia quietly "They should be here any moment. The king always tells them to come every day in case he needs them."

"Ok." said Murtagh as they sat at the only empty table in the darker corner. Minutes were passing by; they were just drinking and still not talking much. Suddenly the door opened and everyone looked in that direction. Four men came in and some of men in the tavern immediately greeted them; they were obviously locals. One of the men that came looked around the tavern and Gia immediately got up from the table with a smile on her face. The blond guy smiled too and came to their table.

"Hey!" he said happily and hugged Gia, lifting her in the air.

"Hey!" she laughed as he let go of her. Murtagh stared surprised at them. There were so many questions in his mind and he even thought how to get rid of the guy if he has something with Gia. But she just kept chatting with the tall guy and he was gently touching her hand. Murtagh could feel his heart beating faster and faster. The guy was really good-looking and strong. His short blond hair was looking perfectly and his dark blue eyes shined when he spoke to Gia. He was wearing some old brown clothes but still it looked better than the clothes of other people in the tavern. Murtagh realized the guy must be rich or something because of the way he was acting with Gia and because he looked so proud and self-confident. Then the guy hugged Gia again and Murtagh couldn't stand anymore not to know what is going on. It was too loud in the tavern to hear what he was saying to Gia. Suddenly Murtagh got up furiously, almost crashing the table. Gia turned around and looked at his eyes that shined like a fire and his rigid face.

"Oh, sorry. I almost forgot." said Gia "Murtagh, this is Zion…my brother…and Zion, this is Murtagh, a Dragon Rider."

"Nice to meet you!" smiled Zion while Murtagh looked surprised at him and Gia.

"Ok, so it's them." said Gia quietly, looking at the three guys that came with Zion and now were sitting at the one of the tables with others.

"Then we're going out now. Tell them to follow." said Gia. Zion nodded and went to them. Gia just gave a sign to Murtagh to follow her out of the tavern. This time they came out unnoticed; no one bothered to pay attention to them.

"You have a brother?" Murtagh asked while they were waiting in the dark.

"Yes." Gia rolled her eyes "Is that a problem?"

"No." said Murtagh "But what he has to do with all this?"

"He's helping me sometimes to do the job better. This time he pretended to be a friend of these guys so after they _disappear,_it will be easier to explain it all. No one will know what really happened." said Gia "And don't worry. My brother doesn't know anything about what kind of information we came for. He was just here and since the king was planning this for a long time..."

"Good." said Murtagh as the three guys came out of the tavern.

"So…" one of the guys tried to say but Gia gave him a sign to stop talking. She looked at Murtagh and got close to the guy who wanted to speak, probably their leader. Gia looked deep into his eyes and concentrated on getting into his mind. Murtagh didn't even wait for her sign, he was already checking their minds by himself. The guys removed all mind barriers so the job wasn't hard at all. After some moments Gia smiled, satisfied with all she saw.

"It was a pleasure to work with you." said Gia with a wicked smile on her face and whispered something in ancient language. The guy looked at her in horror and dropped down on the ground, dead. The other two guys stared in shock and wanted to run, but Murtagh killed them before they could even move.

"Perfect." whispered Gia, getting closer to Murtagh. Finally they started to kiss passionately when Zion got out of the tavern, looking surprised at them. Gia smiled and Zion looked at the dead guys on the ground and sighed.

"And who will clean the mess?" asked Zion quietly "Someone could come any moment."

"Well, do something." simply said Gia, putting her arms around Murtagh's neck and kissing him.

"Was this all necessary?" asked Zion after he hid the bodies to take them away later.

"Yes." said Gia "If they had stayed alive, they would have put us all in danger."

"So where are you two going now?" asked Zion.

"Actually I was about to ask you do you know a good place to get a nice room." smiled Gia.

"Well, I believe I know what you're thinking…" laughed Zion "There's one nice castle at the end of this street. They have the best rooms in whole town…maybe even in whole country. It's expensive but like that was ever a problem for you."

"Sounds good…" said Gia and looked at Murtagh who just nodded "We'll go there."

"Ok, what did you loose this time?" laughed Zion.

"Umm…" Gia bit her lip "Nothing."

"Oh, come on. You usually don't ask for anyone's approval." said Zion and pulled her closer to him, whispering "Did he do something to you?"

"No!" Gia looked at him, annoyed "He'd be dead by now if he tried something…"

"Gia, I'm your brother! You can't fool me." whispered Zion "He's a Dragon Rider…Galbatorix's Dragon Rider…you can't do anything against him and you know it."

"Um, yeah…right…but I think I'm in love with him." said Gia quietly.

"You? In love? Again?" Zion laughed "Are you serious?"

"Yes." she said.

"Fine, but be careful with him. And just be careful, ok?" said Zion "I don't want you to get into any more trouble…this guy is not like_he _was."

Don't mention _him._" said Gia bitterly "And stop saying stupid things! I have to go."

"Ok, see you then." smiled Zion and hugged her.

"Bye!" smiled Gia as he was leaving. Murtagh and Gia went to take their horses and then walked till the end of the street where they saw the castle. It looked impressive; with large windows and terrace. There was also a nice park in front of it, and red roses were going up all way to the terrace. It seemed like a shadow is covering the castle, because there was no light coming from inside. There was just one torch that was lightening the entrance.

"It looks empty." said Gia "Probably people don't travel around that much and don't have money to afford it."

"Perfect." smiled Murtagh as they entered the castle, leaving their horses in front of it.

"Hello! How can I help you?" asked the red-haired woman with a smile on her face.

"We need a room." said Murtagh.

"Sure!" said the woman "I have one just perfect for you. What's your name?"

"Forget about the name and give us the key." smiled Murtagh, giving the money to her.

"Yes, of course!" said the woman, giving him the key happily. Gia and Murtagh hurried down the dark hall.


	5. Lovers

**Author's note: **Sorry I couldn't post this earlier…it's just too busy time for me.

Gia gasped as they entered the room; it was huge. The marble floor and black bed covers seemed magical. Dark and mystical look of the room was still making it feel cold, even the torches were now shining brightly. Gia walked straight to the terrace. The view from there was amazing. The park was mostly in the dark, lightened just with few torches. They probably put them when Gia and Murtagh arrived. Gia took a deep breath; the air was cold and it made her shiver slightly. She closed her eyes and enjoyed in the quiet.

"Ouch!" said Gia and opened her eyes because of the prick she felt on her arm. She realized Murtagh is standing behind her back and then looked at her arm. He was holding one of the roses that were coming up to the terrace and its thorn broke Gia's skin.

"Great!" said Gia, healing the small wound and making all thorns to fell off the rose.

"So sensitive?" Murtagh laughed.

"Huh. What do you want?" asked Gia and wanted to turn around to face him, but he stopped her, holding her tightly in his arms. She could feel his warm breath on her neck; it was just making her shiver more and more.

"What do I want?" he whispered.

"Yes, you won. I know you want something and I believe this is the moment, am I right?" she said, looking into the dark sky.

"I want you…" he said. She could feel his fingers on the back of her dress and she smiled to herself.

"Ok, if that's what you want." said Gia as Murtagh pulled her inside a bit. It felt a little bit warmer but the light cold wind was getting inside. In that moment Gia's dress fell down on the floor and Murtagh was still holding her in his arms, touching slowly her back.

"Close your eyes." whispered Murtagh into her ear. Gia did what he told her to and he gently kissed her neck. Suddenly Gia felt something cold pressing against her stomach and shivered again. She could feel her heart beating faster. On her surprise she felt a sharp pain and immediately opened her eyes. Murtagh was holding her tightly against his body and she saw blood on her stomach. Gia gasped as Murtagh continued to drag the cold knife slowly over her skin, making a bloody line that was healing immediately. Her breathing was heavy now and she squirmed a bit from the pain.

"I wonder what is it about you that makes me want you so much." whispered Murtagh and move away the knife a bit.

"_He_ didn't tell you?" Gia smiled wickedly.

"Who?" Murtagh asked surprised and turned her around, looking deep into her eyes.

"I won't tell you. Maybe it's better like that." said Gia and licked her lips.

"Tell me." said Murtagh and Gia felt the attack on her mind.

"Don't do that." she said "It looks like you're not as close to him as I thought."

"What?" Murtagh was confused.

"Kiss me." whispered Gia, taking a deep breath. Murtagh looked at her and couldn't stand anymore the seductive look in her eyes. They started to kiss passionately and Murtagh dropped the knife to the floor. Gia's fingers were all over him, almost ripping his clothes until it was all on the floor. Murtagh wanted to carry her to the bed, but something else caught her look. A big smile appeared on Gia's face and she immediately run to one small table in the corner of the room. Murtagh couldn't even realize what's going on and Gia was already back, holding a big bottle of wine in her hand.

"I can't believe it I didn't see this before!" said Gia happily, opening the bottle. She took a good sip of it and lying down on the marble cold floor she called Murtagh to come closer. Then she took the bottle and spilled some wine on her stomach, enjoying the view of red liquid that smelled so good. Murtagh smiled at her, licking slowly the wine and making her bit her lip from pleasure. He kissed her lips passionately and she moved her arm across the floor until she felt the knife under her fingers. She took it and swiftly moved it, pressing the cold blade to his neck. Murtagh gasped surprised and then smiled at her.

"Show me how you do it." Gia whispered, giving him the knife.

"You mean this?" he said, cutting slowly the tender skin on her breasts and making it heal as he moved it.

"Yes…" Gia said, closing her eyes and smiling.

"You have to be careful and concentrate." smiled Murtagh and kissed her gently "Don't…get…distracted."

"It feels…special." said Gia, taking the knife from him and sitting up on the floor "I just never did cutting and healing in the same time."

"Try." he gave her a daring look and took another sip of wine. She pushed him lightly and made him lay down on the floor. Murtagh winced when the cold blade cut through the skin on his muscular chest, but before blood could be seen it was all healed. Gia gasped from excitement.

"I love magic!" laughed Gia and stopped, taking some more wine. When she put the bottle down again, Murtagh grabbed her wrists. In a second he turned her and pinned her to the floor, kissing her again. Then he let go of her arm while she was still holding the knife and he parted her legs. Their tongues exploring each other's mouth, Murtagh's fast, almost violent movements made Gia shiver and moan. Gia moved her hand without thinking; the knife shaking and flashing in the dark. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths while Murtagh kissed and touched her everywhere. Her hand was now between their warm bodies, the knife cutting their skin as they moved but it didn't make them stop. Gia screamed from pleasure as the cold wind entered the room, spinning everything around.

* * *

"Oh, shit." said Gia, breathing heavily as they were resting on the floor.

"What?" asked Murtagh, trying to catch his breath.

"Blood." said Gia, touching her stomach and looking at her hand covered with red liquid.

"Oh, don't be so surprised." smiled Murtagh, healing first his wounds then he placed his hand over her stomach.

"Ouch!" said Gia, looking at him angrily like he caused her a great pain.

"Shut up! You're overreacting. I didn't even touch you." he rolled his eyes and healed the wound.

"Ok." sighed Gia "I thought it's supposed to hurt…actually, it did…"

"And…you're not sure?" Murtagh slowly got up from the floor.

"I just know I love the feeling." smiled Gia, getting up too and following him to the terrace. The moon was now lightening it and the wind wasn't so cold and strong.

"Are you sure you want to stand there?" suddenly asked Gia "Someone could see…"

"Come here!" Murtagh pulled her close to him and kissed her "I know you would love that."

"I want something…" she whispered, playing with her long dark hair "But I don't know do you…"

"What is it?" he asked.

"Your scar." said Gia and Murtagh rolled his eyes and moved away from her, looking at sky.

"Whatever it is, my answer is no." he said coldly.

"I know you're sensitive when it comes about that…but…please." said Gia with a pleading look on her face.

"No." said Murtagh through his teeth; his hands pressed against the cold stone in front of him.

"Give me a chance." whispered Gia, touching gently his back. He flinched.

"No." he said angrily but didn't move.

"You have bad memories….I want to change it…" whispered Gia, moving her finger closer to his scar. Murtagh closed his eyes, his breathing getting faster.

"Let me…touch it." said Gia, her fingers slightly crossing over the scar.

"Ok." he said like he wasn't sure of what he was saying. Gia smiled to herself and ran her fingers across the scar, not stopping to touch it. She kissed it gently and then started to lick it slowly. Murtagh shivered. The images that came into his mind were torturing him; the past that should have been forgotten, but it was impossible to forget. Gia didn't stop, almost breaking his skin with her long nails. She continued to kiss his back as one dark cloud covered the moon, making everything looking dark and scary.

"I want to know…" said Gia between kisses "…what is it… in your skin… that makes you feel…so bad…about someone touching it…"

"It seems silly to you…" said Murtagh coldly "But you don't know anything about it."

"Show me." whispered Gia.

"No, no one should see that." he said bitterly.

"The king already saw it all." she said, attacking his mind lightly.

"Gia, there's nothing to be seen!" he said angrily, facing her "You act like it's fun…to see others suffering. Everyone knows the story by now and this fucking scar reminds me on everything! I don't want anyone to know how it felt!"

"Fine." Gia rolled her eyes and moved away from him "I just thought you would feel better if you share it with someone…someone who cares…"

"Yeah and that person is not you!" said Murtagh.

"Whatever." said Gia and entered back in the room. She immediately went to the bed, throwing the covers angrily on the floor and laid down on the empty bed. Murtagh came in after her and watched her for a moment. She felt his eyes on her but she kept staring in front of her like he wasn't there, her head resting on the soft pillow. Murtagh sighed and laid next to her, but she still didn't look at him. He gently put his arm around her and she finally turned her head and looked at him.

"What?" she asked annoyed.

"I…I love you." he whispered; it sounded more like a question.

"Umm…I love you too." smiled Gia hesitantly as they kissed.

"No!" they both said in the same moment and moved away from each other.

"Ok, that was funny!" laughed Gia and looked at him.

"No, that was disgusting!" said Murtagh "Like we were a happily married couple!"

"Yes!" she laughed again "It was weird."

"Too weird." he said and pulled her closer to him "Just lovers, right?"

"Lovers and nothing more." she said quietly and they kissed passionately.

* * *

"Argh, fuck!" said Gia when she opened her eyes next morning; the sun was coming into the room, lightening it all over.

"Oh, shut up! It's just sun, my dark princess." laughed Murtagh. Gia shut her eyes again and tried to open them but it was still too painful. Finally she adjusted to the light and looked around the room. She saw Murtagh sitting at the table in the corner and writing something.

"What are you doing?" asked Gia and sat up in the bed, removing the covers surprised that they were there; she was completely awake now.

"Nothing." said Murtagh "Get ready. We have to go."

"Umm…fine." said Gia, looking around "Where is my fucking dress?"

"I got you a new one. It's in the bag next to the bed." said Murtagh, not looking away from his papers.

"You did what?" asked Gia surprised.

"Just put it on. I'm sure you're going to like it." he smiled at her. She slowly reached for the bag and took the wine-red dress, looking at it with wide eyes.

"Wow." she smiled, putting it on "I like it."

"Perfect." he smiled "Now come!"

Gia followed him and they got to one big room in the castle. Servants were there waiting for them to come. Finally Gia saw a table in the middle of the light room. They both sat at the table and it felt awkward to Gia; it looked similar to the lunch with her parents years ago. She almost started to laugh but servants brought the food and drink to the table and Murtagh gave them a sign to leave.

"Ok, what is all this?" asked Gia while Murtagh was pouring the wine into her glass.

"Breakfast." said Murtagh casually.

"Ok…but why is it so…so…" Gia was looking for the right word "…royal."

"Royal?" he laughed "It's just like it's supposed to be."

"Fine." said Gia still surprised and started to eat. They didn't even say a word while having breakfast. But after some minutes of sitting and doing nothing, Gia couldn't take it anymore.

"What are we doing now?" she asked nervously.

"We're going somewhere." he said, getting up from the table and giving her a sing to follow him through the hall.

"Somewhere?" Gia raised an eyebrow as they got outside the castle. The nature around them was looking beautiful and peaceful, everything light and green. It was totally different from last night's scenery.

"Just come with me and don't say anything." said Murtagh as Gia followed him.

"Whatever." Gia rolled her eyes annoyed as they got to the one large park behind the castle "What the fuck are we supposed to do here?"

"I wanted to give you…" said Murtagh, getting to the one of the strange looking trees and taking one flower from it "…this."

"Huh." Gia said surprised, taking the red and white colored flower. It looked like a rose but with more open petals which were changing colors from red to white and then back.

"Do you like it?" he smiled.

"Umm…it looks nice." she said, looking back at the tree. She looked at it better and realized that the flowers are not changing their colors there.

"What is that?" she asked.

"It's a magical flower." said Murtagh "You have to hold it in your hand for some time to work properly, at least that is what the owner told me."

"And what is supposed to happen?" asked Gia, looking at the flower and felt like some strange energy is going trough her hand. Murtagh just watched her carefully.

"Oh!" gasped Gia when the flower started to glow, so she couldn't even look at it. Finally the glowing stopped and Gia felt strange sensation in her hand; the energy was gone. She looked at her hand and saw a silver ring on her finger.

"What the fuck?" Gia said, looking carefully at the ring which had a ruby on it "What is this?"

"A ring." Murtagh smiled; he seemed to be pleased with this.

"Yeah, I see it's a ring, but what does it mean…how…" Gia was almost yelling.

"It's a secret." smiled Murtagh.

"Fuck you!" said Gia angrily and ran back to the castle. She immediately got to the owner of the castle.

"Tell me what this means." said Gia, showing the ring to the old man.

"Oh, congratulations." said the man happily.

"On what?" Gia was nervous.

"The flower becomes a ring only in one case." said the man "If you love the person who gave the flower to you…"

"Shit!" Gia was shocked and tried to get it off her finger.

"You can't take it off." laughed the man "It can't be destroyed and it stays on until you stop loving him."

"What? No! It can't be!" said Gia, but the man just kept smiling "I can't take it off? Never? Even if I cut off my finger?"

"No." said the man, but he wasn't smiling now; he was just shocked by Gia's idea "Don't try crazy things. It simply works like that."

"That's it." said Gia angrily "I'm going to kill him!"


	6. Little secret

Gia was walking furiously around the castle but she couldn't see Murtagh anywhere.

"Where did he go?" Gia asked herself when someone approached her from behind.

"Hello, young lady." said one older woman, dressed in some weird orange-red dress and her black curly hair was covered with dark blue handkerchief.

"And what do you want?" Gia asked angrily.

"I can tell you something about your past, present and future." the woman smiled mysteriously.

"Huh, great!" Gia rolled her eyes "A witch!"

"I can tell you something about your love…" the woman continued with a smile on her face.

"Fuck off!" said Gia annoyed, looking around for Murtagh.

"Fine!" the woman said with angry look on her face "Anyway, your inability to tell how you feel about someone can destroy you…him too."

"Oh, shut up! What do you know about me?" said Gia nervously and went away from the woman. Finally she saw Murtagh standing next to the horses.

"I'm going to kill you!" she yelled at him and pushed him a bit.

"Remember…you can't!" he simply laughed at her.

"I hate you!" she yelled again.

"No, you don't." he smiled and looked at her hand.

"Why did you do that?" asked Gia almost desperately.

"Because I did." he smiled "Now let's go. We don't want to be late."

"Freak." said Gia under her breath as they climbed onto their horses. They were riding fast and didn't even look at each other. All plans Gia had to see her brother again were forgotten. They just wanted to get back to Urû'baen as fast as they could. It wasn't that they wanted to see the king or do their task well; Murtagh couldn't wait to feel Thorn's presence again and Gia missed her visits to Nick's place.

* * *

After a long time of traveling, they finally got to the castle. Galbatorix was standing there and smiled at Murtagh and Gia, and then he went back into the castle.

"Are you coming with me?" suddenly asked Murtagh as the soldiers were taking away their horses.

"No." said Gia, surprised by his question after so many hours of silence; she almost thought they'll never speak again "You can tell everything to the king. You don't need me. I have to go somewhere."

"Fine." said Murtagh coldly and went. Gia immediately thought that she might have made a mistake, but it was better for her to stay away from the king for some time. She hurried to get to Nick's restaurant but she felt so tired that it took her some time to get there.

"Gia!" smiled Nick when he saw her standing at the door; the restaurant was almost empty because it was very late.

"Hey." Gia took a deep breath "I need a drink…double."

"What happened? You're walking like a puppet on a string!" laughed Nick, giving her the drink.

"I was riding a horse almost whole day!" she said annoyed, taking a good sip of wine "I feel like someone cut off my legs! I can barely feel them! And not to mention that even my ass hurts!"

"Oh, poor baby!" laughed Nick when something caught his attention "Wow, where did you get that nice ring?"

"Don't even remind me!" said Gia annoyed, giving him her empty glass to give her more "It's a long story."

"Perfect!" said Nick happily "Now tell me what happened!"

"Well, I can't live without him. He tastes better than this wine." laughed Gia "And there was this moment…when we actually said that we love each other…and it felt so awkward, so unnatural, so stupid…I guess we said that just because we thought that's what people in love say. And I do love him…I believe…this stupid ring proves it…but…when I told him I love him…it didn't feel like I thought it would. It was almost embarrassing to say the word…love…stupid!"

"Hm, so it's a magical ring!" smiled Nick "That's sweet!"

"Sweet?" Gia looked at him with blank expression on her face "So you've heard about these rings?"

"Of course! I'm a restaurant owner! We know all! People talk!" laughed Nick and gave her another glass.

"You're overreacting, Nick. I'm sure you don't know…everything." said Gia and started to feel dizzy from the wine, but she emptied the glass.

"Do you want more?" asked Nick, taking the glass.

"Umm, no…" she closed her eyes for a moment "I feel…sleepy."

"Gia, go to sleep then." said Nick, carefully looking at her.

"I don't…want…" she said and yawned, almost felling down from the chair.

"You can't stay here. I'm closing." said Nick and pulled her into his arms, taking her outside "Come on."

"Umm." said Gia when Nick let go of her and showed her in which direction is the castle. Then he got back inside and turned off the lights. Gia looked around and started walking; little bit left, little bit right and she thought she's going well but then she saw a tree in front of her.

"What the fuck? How did…?" said Gia to herself, surprised by the tree. Finally she decided she couldn't walk anymore and sat down under it. She was almost asleep when she heard someone calling her name. She opened her eyes and saw nothing except the dark and fog around, even she wasn't really sure was there really fog or just her imagination.

"_Gia!_" said the familiar voice.

"_What?_" said Gia and realized it's mental conversation that she is having.

"_Are you ok?_" asked Thorn worried.

"_I…fine._" said Gia and closed her eyes; her whole body ached.

"_You have to get back to the castle._" said Thorn nervously.

"_Wait…_" suddenly said Gia, the cold clearing her mind a bit "_If you…are talking to me…where is…Murtagh?_"

"_Galbatorix…_" said Thorn but Gia couldn't hear what he was saying; she lost the mental connection and her consciousness.

* * *

After some hours of sleeping in the cold, Gia felt the ground moving under her. She realized someone was carrying her and tried to open her eyes but she was still confused. Her head hurt like someone was stabbing it with thousands of knifes. Now she realized how cold it was and her body started to shiver. Before she could find out what is going on, she felt warmer. She finally opened her eyes and looked around. It wasn't her room but it was similar, just much bigger so it had to be Galbatorix's castle; almost all rooms looked the same: dark and cold.

"I can't believe you!" said Murtagh angrily, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her.

"Um…what?" asked Gia and sat up in the bed. She realized they were in Murtagh's room.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Murtagh was yelling "I don't want to think what could have happened if I hadn't found you there!"

"I'm sorry…" said Gia, putting her hands on her head; it still hurt too much "How did you know…?"

"For some reason Thorn knew where to find you…I wonder how…" he said and Gia looked better at his shirt.

"Murtagh!" said Gia shocked, looking at his shirt wet with blood "What happened?"

"Nothing!" he said through his teeth, healing the wounds.

"Tell me!" said Gia upset.

"Just a little problem with Galbatorix." said Murtagh angrily "But I had to look for you so I didn't have time to fix all…"

"Oh…" it was all that Gia managed to say. She felt again the pain in her head and muscles and just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Go to sleep." said Murtagh like he knew how she felt; Gia watched him taking off his shirt and smiled.

"Come here." said Gia and gently hugged him when he got in the bed next to her.

"Were you talking to my dragon again?" he looked deep into her eyes.

"No." she said and kissed him "You told me not to."

"Hm, that's what Thorn said…but if you two didn't talk…then you're hiding something from me." said Murtagh.

"Well if you don't know is your dragon hiding something…then really…I don't know, it's all secret." laughed Gia.

"And you? Are you hiding something from me?" asked Murtagh with a smile on his face.

"Well…" she had a playful smile on her face "I'm still dressed…"

They both laughed on Gia's answer and it seemed that question was over. Their lips touched again softly.

"So what actually happened with you and the king?" asked Gia curiously "Did we do something wrong?"

"No, we didn't…I did…at least that's what Galbatorix thinks." said Murtagh.

"And?" she wanted to know more.

"You're mine no matter what Galbatorix says." he said while his eyes shined.

"It was about me?" she asked surprised, looking deep into his eyes.

"Yes." he said shortly, avoiding her look.

"What? The king knows something and…?" Gia was confused.

"He knows everything. You know I can't hide anything from him." Murtagh said bitterly "Suddenly it occurred to him that he doesn't like our relationship."

"But why? There is nothing wrong with it! It shouldn't be a problem for him." said Gia shocked.

"Can't you see? Galbatorix is here _alone_ and old…not to mention ugly and unhappy….and seeing us…it makes him angry and frustrated." said Murtagh.

"But…will he try to do something to separate us?" asked Gia nervously.

"Maybe…I don't know." he said desperately "Ancient language can make things…and he can make me say it…"

"No! We can't let that happen…I…I need you." she whispered "Maybe I should try to talk to him…"

"No, don't." he said, touching gently her long dark hair "He won't do anything. I believe he still thinks he will keep me under his rule easier with you here."

"Oh, fine then." said Gia; she was now much calmer and felt sleepy again. She immediately closed her eyes and Murtagh kept watching her face until he fell asleep too.

* * *

Days and months were passing by, looking almost the same to Gia and Murtagh. Galbatorix was preparing them both for the battle and didn't do anything to stop their passionate nights after each day. Gia still used to go to Nick's restaurant and tell him everything that was going on. One day Murtagh saw Gia and Thorn near the castle. Gia was gently touching dragon's neck and Thorn seemed to be so happy with her. Murtagh was almost sure that they were talking like many times before, even they denied it over and over again. He decided to go to them and discover the truth. Before he was angry on Gia for speaking with Thorn because the dragon was the closest and only friend he had and didn't want to loose, but now he didn't know what to think.

"What are you two doing?" asked Murtagh casually when he got closer to them. It seemed like they didn't notice him coming; they both looked surprised and nervous.

"Nothing." said Gia and smiled.

"Really?" Murtagh raised an eyebrow and looked at Thorn "Are you still my dragon or you prefer her?"

"Murtagh!" said Gia and Thorn just stared at him "What are you talking about?"

"You two seem to be close. It's not the first time I see you together." said Murtagh.

"Hey! Don't tell me you're jealous on your dragon!" Gia started to laugh.

"It's not that. You seem to be closer with him than I am…and I know how much you want to have a dragon." said Murtagh, almost accusing her.

"Don't be silly! I'm not trying to steal your dragon!" said Gia and looked at Thorn "Maybe it's time that we tell him, don't you think?"

The dragon moved his head in a nod and Gia smiled. Murtagh still looked at them suspiciously.

"Why don't you tell him?" said Gia, looking at the dragon who seemed to be upset by that idea and immediately rose in the air and flew away.

"Thorn! Oh, come on! You silly baby dragon!" yelled Gia after him but he didn't come back.

"Just tell me." said Murtagh.

"Ok, well…before you were here and before Thorn hatched…I used to take care of the egg…" said Gia and her face blushed with slight embarrassment "I used to talk to the egg, and I guess he liked it! He was waiting for you and when he hatched…well, you know. And since you share your feelings with him…that maybe helped to our…you know."

"What?" Murtagh was shocked "You're talking to eggs?"

"Shut up! I was just bored!" said Gia "And cleaning eggs…it's just monotone."

"Great! So you're a good friend of my dragon and my lover, that's interesting. I wonder why he didn't hatch for you if he loves you so much." said Murtagh, not sure was this good or bad thing.

"It wasn't meant to be." said Gia quietly "He's all yours."

"And I don't know who is more stupid…you or him…for keeping this a secret." he said coldly.

"I think you…it took you so long to discover the truth!" laughed Gia.

"Ok, fine." smiled Murtagh "Anyway we have to go. Galbatorix wants to see us."

"Ok." said Gia and followed him back to the castle. When they got to the throne room, they saw that Galbatorix was walking around nervously, waiting for them.

"Ah, finally! What took you so long?" said Galbatorix with a serious look on his face.

"We…" wanted to say Gia but the king looked at her angrily.

"I don't care!" yelled Galbatorix "You have to prepare for the war against the Varden! You're going tomorrow with the army. Murtagh, you will be the leader of the army and you Gia, you will be the leader of magicians and follow Murtagh's orders."

"Oh…" Gia gasped surprised; she was finally going to a real battle and she was excited about it.

"Gia, if you don't have anything to say, you can go." said the king and looked at Murtagh.

"No, my king." smiled Gia "I don't have anything to say."

"Great!" said Galbatorix and Gia headed for the door "And you Murtagh, you still have to make some new oaths."

Gia looked back at Murtagh for some moments before closing the door and smiled at him.


	7. The battle

The army of the Empire was ready for the battle on the Burning Plains. Gia was walking nervously between the lines of magicians; her whole body tense. She knew that Murtagh was somewhere far from her, lost in the sea of the soldiers of the Empire and their only connection was mental. Of course, they had to be careful with sharing thoughts because they were close to the enemy. Thorn and Murtagh were waiting somewhere hidden; it was important that no one sees them before time. Gia was getting more and more nervous and she hoped that she won't have to get into the battle directly because that could be deadly for her. She took a deep breath and looked at the soldier who was waiting for her order, actually Murtagh's.

"Go and tell them we won't negotiate with them anymore…by refusing king's terms of surrender, they choose death…well, you know what to say, don't you?" said Gia, her voice trembling with anger. The soldier nodded and went. Gia watched him go closer to the Varden, but keeping a good distance from them he began his speech. After that Gia heard a loud angry dragon roar and she shivered.

"_Is that Saphira?_" asked Gia nervously, her heart beating faster and faster.

"_Yes._" answered Murtagh "_But don't ask me stupidities, we don't have time for that._"

Gia gasped when she saw that the soldier fell into the fire on the field because of Saphira's roar.

"They deserve to die!" said Gia through her teeth, looking angrily at the fire in front of her. Now they were just waiting and soon the night had fallen on the Burning Plains. Gia was walking again nervously, checking the magicians and looking around; all this waiting for battle to start was making her bit her lip various times to stop herself from shaking. Few hours passed and not even Murtagh's gentle words could calm Gia down; she was just too upset with everything that was going on around her. The dawn almost came when some of the soldiers started to scream in pain. Gia looked at them shocked, unsure what to do.

"_What the fuck is going on?_" asked Gia, feeling like she has a fever.

"_Something is wrong!_" said Murtagh "_We missed something!_"

"_But what?_" asked Gia confused, sweat appeared on her forehead.

"_They were poisoned!_" Gia heard one of the magicians who discovered first what happened.

"_Shit_!" said Gia upset "_How many did we loose? Warn the others!_"

Gia closed her eyes for a moment; it was the moment she waited for her whole life and now there was this fear something will go terribly wrong and not like she imagined.

"_Fuck it! How stupid could I be not to see this happening?_" she was angry with herself, thinking it was probably her fault. She was the one who was supposed to take care of things and predict the enemy's next move but she failed. The screams continued and soldiers were falling down on the ground dead. It made Gia furious and upset; the tears were threatening to come out of her dark eyes, but she didn't let them. It wasn't a good moment to cry.

The first signs of dawn appeared and Gia looked at it with fear in her eyes, but tried to hide that from others.

"It's time!" Gia yelled "They are coming! Fight for your homes! Fight for your family! Fight for the Empire!"

The battle started. Gia was now not so close to the battlefield. She could hear the noise that made the soldiers of the Varden and Empire fighting, but that wasn't her task; she had to find the magicians of the enemy and destroy them before they find her.

"Shit!" Gia said frustrated when one of her magicians fell down on the ground dead. She concentrated better on her task, but there was always something that distracted her in last second and ruining her all attempts. Finally she got into one of enemy magician's minds and killed him. That made her feel a little bit better. She was also avoiding Eragon, because Murtagh told her it's better for her not to try anything with him; the risk was too big. Then she continued to kill the soldiers of the Varden, but it wasn't easy because she first had to see whose soldier she attacked because she couldn't see them. Almost whole day passed like that and Gia was getting more and more tired with trying to protect her magicians and kill the enemies.

"_I'm going to attack Eragon._" said Murtagh "_Stay with me. Don't break the mental connection…maybe I'll need you._"

"_Ok. Be careful._" whispered Gia, unsure should she feel happy or sad. She wanted to see Murtagh winning the fight but all she could do was stay with him in his mind. The noise and screams from the battlefield were still distracting her but she tried to concentrate as best as she could.

"No!" Gia gasped when she realized that Thorn got hurt a bit in a fight with Eragon and Saphira. She could see Murtagh's thoughts but she was careful not to send him hers because it could just distract him more. After some time of fighting, Gia knew that Murtagh is almost done with beating Eragon; she could feel it in his mind, he was actually laughing at Eragon.

"_No, I did not die. It was the Twins' doing, Eragon_." Gia could see in her mind Murtagh and Eragon talking and she didn't like that.

"Don't speak to him! He can confuse you!" said Gia more for herself because Murtagh couldn't hear her "Hm, I wonder where are the Twins now? Haven't seen them for a while."

"They're pretending to do a good thing for the battle. They should be somewhere in the battlefield." said one of the magicians who was next to Gia.

"Oh, fine then." said Gia, concentrating again on Murtagh. She thought that he's now talking too much and then she realized that something happened to the Twins, at least Murtagh promised not to warn them or something; she wasn't completely sure.

Gia could now hear Eragon's words in Murtagh's mind: "_Join me, Murtagh. You could do so much for the Varden. With us, you would be praised and admired, instead of cursed, feared, and hated._"

"_Ok, this stupid boy doesn't have any idea about what he's talking._" thought Gia, disgusted with Eragon's words.

Then Eragon spoke again: "_Then let us kill the two of you._"

"_That pathetic little…ugh!_" thought Gia angrily "_Not that he's only stupid…but he's the best in saying stupidities!_"

Gia was getting more and more annoyed with Eragon: "_It would free you from Galbatorix's _

_control. And it would save the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Isn't that a noble enough cause to sacrifice yourself for?_"

"I hate this guy!" yelled Gia in frustration and smiled to herself when Murtagh said that life is too sweet for him to part with it so easily.

"_Kill him!_" said Gia and this time Murtagh could hear her.

"_I can't kill him…Galbatorix wanted me to capture him._" said Murtagh.

"_Then bring him here!_" said Gia. Suddenly Gia realized what is going on; Murtagh was letting Eragon go.

"_No! Don't do that! Are you fucking crazy?_" yelled Gia but Murtagh blocked her out of his mind "Ugh, fuck you!"

"We are defeated!" said one of the soldiers "What are we supposed to do? There's no many people alive left."

"Shit!" said Gia, trying to reach Murtagh again but he didn't let her "We're pulling back! And I need a horse! Fast!"

"Sure, but your horse is not so close…we had to leave it so the poor animal wouldn't get killed." said the soldier "And what about those who are still alive? Should magicians try to heal them?"

"I don't give a fuck, ok?" yelled Gia furiously "And I'm going now! Do whatever you want!"

She immediately ran to where her horse was supposed to be. She turned around for a second and saw the rests of the battle and some soldiers running away like she did.

"Why did this happen?" almost cried Gia "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

* * *

After some time she found her horse safely tied to one tree. It seemed like the animal didn't know anything about what was happening on the battlefield.

"Come on!" yelled Gia and forced her horse to run fast; black horse and her black clothes was making them look like a dark shadow running through the woods. After some hours passed, Gia stopped in the middle of the woods and looked around; she was lost and probably won't find Murtagh.

"_Thorn! Where are you?_" said Gia when she felt the dragon's presence.

"_Close._" said Thorn and showed her the image of the place "_Look!_"

"_Ok!_" said Gia, immediately hurrying to get to that place.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" yelled Gia when she saw Murtagh sitting under one tree "Are you out of your mind?"

"Fuck it, Gia! Do you think that was an easy decision?" he looked up at her angrily.

"You had him! Why did you let him go?" Gia was furious.

"I did what was best for us!" said Murtagh.

"For us?" Gia raised an eyebrow "No! It was only for you! You couldn't capture your retarded brother!"

"Shut up!" he said and pointed his sword at her "Do you think Galbatorix would keep me alive if he got Eragon?"

"Um, I think he would…" said Gia, distracted by the shiny sword "Where did you get this?"

"I took it from Eragon. It's Zar'roc, it belonged to Morzan." said Murtagh.

"Ok…interesting. Can I see it better?" asked Gia, forgetting about anything else. Murtagh didn't say anything, just gave her the sword.

"Wow, it's beautiful." smiled Gia and ran it's blade against her skin; the blood appeared but she immediately healed the wound.

"And?" Murtagh looked at her.

"It's completely awesome!" smiled Gia and all her anger and things she wanted to say were gone.

"Come here with that sword!" smiled Murtagh.

"Catch me!" laughed Gia and started to run.

"Hey!" yelled Murtagh after her, but she didn't stop. Murtagh finally threw away all battle things he had at his side and ran after her. Thorn had landed somewhere near and rested on the soft grass. Gia stopped in front of one cave and stared into the dark that was hiding its secrets. Before she could realize it, Murtagh came behind her back and grabbed her hand. Gia gasped and dropped the sword.

"Afraid there are wild animals inside?" laughed Murtagh and picked up Zar'roc.

"Well…you never know actually…but I believe you're the only wild animal here." laughed Gia and Murtagh pushed her roughly against the cold stone of the cave "Ouch!"

"Actually I'm a wild animal and I'm going to eat you!" said Murtagh, licking his lips and keeping her pressed against the stone.

"Oh, I'm so scared!" laughed Gia.

"You can't escape…" Murtagh whispered into her ear and started to kiss her neck slowly. Suddenly her clothes felt different on her skin and she realized that was done with magic. She laughed when Murtagh managed to take off all their clothes just with few words of ancient language.

"Wow, impressive." said Gia, facing him and smiled.

"_You don't want to know how much time it took him to learn how to do it properly!_" Gia heard Thorn laughing in her mind.

"_Hey, dragon! Get out of here!_" said Gia, sounding angry and blocking Thorn out of her mind. Gia and Murtagh kissed passionately, blocking all other thoughts out of their minds. It was the only way to forget everything. Murtagh pushed her against the stone even more, putting her legs apart. The stone was cutting her skin a bit and it made her to bit her lips as Murtagh continued to kiss her and touch her. Her skin felt like it was on fire and her heart threatened to jump out of her chest. It wasn't just because of Murtagh's intoxicated touch; surrounding and things that happened some hours ago made her nervous and felt like she was doing something wrong. Gia pushed him on the ground and they were now kissing and rolling over the soft and a bit wet grass. Suddenly they heard a loud roar from Thorn and they both looked shocked and surprised at that direction. They immediately removed the barriers from their minds, getting back to the cruel reality they wanted to push away.

* * *

"_What is it?_" asked Murtagh as he and Gia were putting their clothes on.

"_We have to go! Galbatorix sent Ra'zac to find us!_" said Thorn upset.

"Shit!" said Gia nervously "The king found out what happened somehow…and how are we supposed to get to the castle so fast?"

"Umm…" said Murtagh and looked at Thorn who landed near them.

"Oh, right, the dragon." said Gia "We are so dead!"

"Gia…" said Murtagh quietly, looking deep into her eyes "I have to go back because of the ancient language, but you…"

"No! Are you crazy? I can't stay here or run away or something…" said Gia, her whole body shaking "I'll ask the king to forgive me for this…failure…and…"

"I don't care what he does to me…he still needs me…and you…" Murtagh was searching for the right words.

"No matter where I go…the king will find me…there is no escape…" whispered Gia, tears coming to her eyes "…and I can't…I can't…can't let you go there alone. It's not just your fault, it's mine too."

"Are you kidding? You don't have anything with this." yelled Murtagh "This is between Galbatorix and me."

"That's not true…I was there with you! You can't say I'm not involved!" said Gia "I shouldn't have let our enemy to kill our soldiers and magicians! I should have seen that someone put poison in the water and food! I was fucking blind! Maybe it wouldn't have been like this!"

"What are you talking about? Don't tell me you feel guilty for that!" said Murtagh coldly.

"I just…I don't know what I feel anymore! I'm confused!" cried Gia "But I believe there is no better thing to do than go immediately to the Galbatorix's castle and see what will happen."

"So you will put your life in his hands just like that?" Murtagh raised an eyebrow.

"Yes…" Gia closed her eyes for a moment "He will forgive me."

"Fine…if that's what you want…" said Murtagh while Thorn was waiting for them.


	8. Broken

After some hours, Thorn reached the castle and landed near. Gia and Murtagh could see furious black dragon flying towards them and finally forcing Thorn to follow him. Gia looked around; the castle looked so dark, almost claustrophobic, and heavy clouds totally covered the sky.

"I can't do it!" suddenly said Gia "No…I can't."

"What is it now?" asked Murtagh.

"I'm scared. I can't face the king…" whispered Gia nervously; tears forming in her eyes.

"Gia! You had a chance to change your mind. You can't do anything about it now. Galbatorix knows we are here." said Murtagh.

"Kiss me." said Gia quietly; her body was shaking uncontrollably. Murtagh got closer to her, gently touched her lips and kissed her. Then he just smiled at her and Gia looked at him surprised.

"How can you be so calm?" she asked, almost hysterically.

"I'm not." he said.

"But you look…" said Gia.

"I know." he said "But how I feel is something totally different."

"Ok." Gia closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath "Let's go. I don't want to make the king more furious."

"I don't think that is possible…he's already totally pissed." said Murtagh as they were walking to the castle. Gia felt a wave of unpleasant energy as they got inside. They saw Galbatorix's servants hiding in the halls and getting away from them. Gia looked nervously at Murtagh a moment before she opened the door of the throne room. Galbatorix was walking nervously across the room and stopped when they entered.

"You two!" yelled Galbatorix, his eyes shined furiously.

"My king, we…" tried to say Gia, staring at the floor.

"No! No excuses! I know everything!" said Galbatorix angrily "You are going to pay for this!"

"But…" again tried to say Gia.

"Shut up!" yelled Galbatorix and threw Gia across the room with magic. She hit the wall and fell down unconscious. Galbatorix called soldiers to come and kept looking at Murtagh.

"Take her to the dungeon and call Arien. Tell him he can do whatever he wants with her." said Galbatorix as the soldiers were taking away Gia. Murtagh looked furiously at Galbatorix; Arien was one of the Galbatorix's best torturers.

"You obviously didn't think of her when you let Eragon go." laughed Galbatorix and pushed Murtagh against the wall with magic, getting slowly closer to him and inspecting his mind.

"Leave her alone." said Murtagh through his teeth.

"Why do you care so much about her? She'll survive…and you…" Galbatorix smiled "I send you to bring me Saphira and what do you do? Nothing! You only got this stupid sword!"

"I did exactly what you wanted. You told me to _try_ to capture Saphira and Eragon, and I did that. I tried." Murtagh smiled at the king whose magic was still preventing him from moving. Galbatorix was furious and hit Murtagh in the face, making him fall down on the floor.

"You're going to pay for this failure!" yelled the king and threw Murtagh across the room with magic.

* * *

When Gia woke up, she felt the pain in her head and slowly opened her eyes.

"Shit!" said Gia upset when she saw Arien looking at her and smiling. His black short hair was neatly combed and his cold blue eyes shined mysteriously. Gia panicked when she realized she can't move; her hands were chained to the stone on which she was lying.

"What? Not happy to see me?" Arien smiled with excitement.

"Huh." Gia looked around and saw just the dark walls of the dungeon "What are you going to do?"

"Wouldn't be fun if I told you." he smiled.

"And how about…that you let me go?" Gia smiled at him innocently and whispered "I'll give you anything you want."

"Oh, how nice!" laughed Arien "You can't play that trick on me. I can already do to you anything I want."

"I see. You drugged me." said Gia, realizing she can't use magic.

"And what did you think I'll do? I'm not stupid, Gia." said Arien "What actually happened that the king is so mad at you?"

"And where do you live? Haven't you heard?" Gia rolled her eyes.

"I know that, but I want your side of story." smiled Arien.

"Why?" asked Gia.

"I'm curious." said Arien.

"Fuck off." said Gia annoyed and looked away from him.

"Ok, I can start right away if you want…" laughed Arien and Gia screamed because of the pain she felt in her body; Arien loved to use magic first.

* * *

Some hours passed and Murtagh finally opened his eyes. He felt the pain in his whole body and realized that he is still lying on the floor of the throne room. Slowly he moved his hand to his stomach and saw the blood. He tried to move a bit and looked at the other side of the room. Galbatorix was sitting in his chair; his eyes not leaving Murtagh. The king didn't say a thing, just kept staring. Murtagh realized his blood was all over the floor and he felt so weak that he could barely keep his eyes open. Galbatorix finally got up and came closer to Murtagh who closed his eyes for a moment.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't let you die." said Galbatorix coldly. Murtagh didn't say anything, just closed his eyes and let the dark take him away. Galbatorix called his soldiers who were standing next to the door.

"Take him to the dungeon, send someone to heal him and don't let anyone inside except me." said Galbatorix as the soldiers were taking Murtagh away.

"Yes, my king." said one of the soldiers.

"And get someone to clean this mess!" said Galbatorix disgusted with the blood on floor.

"Yes, my king." said again the soldier and went out. Galbatorix sighed and went back to his chair; he had a lot on his mind.

* * *

Gia screamed again and again while Arien was laughing. She didn't know how much time passed but it seemed that Arien will never stop; he especially enjoyed in breaking her bones with magic. Finally he released her from the chains but she didn't have strength to move. He gently touched her face, smiled and went out. Gia wanted to move. Every inch of her body hurt but she wanted to get away from that stone she was lying on. After few attempts, she finally managed to move and fell down on the cold floor. She gasped because the pain was unbearable and closed her eyes. One day passed and Gia didn't even wake up; there was no day and night in the dungeon anyway. When she opened her eyes, she saw Galbatorix standing next to her and she was again lying on the stone.

"Oh, my poor little girl." said Galbatorix with strange tenderness in his voice.

"I'm sorry, my king." whispered Gia.

"I know it wasn't your fault." said Galbatorix "Your only fault is that you fell for him."

"…I…should have done…something…" she said nervously.

"It's ok." smiled Galbatorix, but there was a mysterious shine in his eyes. He immediately healed all Gia's wounds and helped her to get up.

"Gia, I hope you see now why this was necessary. I don't want you to fail me again." said Galbatorix.

"Yes, my king." said Gia quietly.

"You were so stupid to believe his words. You love him and he was just using you." said Galbatorix with sad look on his face.

"What?" Gia was surprised.

"I'm talking about Murtagh." said Galbatorix.

"What about him?" asked Gia, worried about Murtagh but she was too afraid to ask is he fine.

"Oh, you don't even suspect. He doesn't love you and he doesn't care about you." he said.

"I'm sorry, but that…it's not true." said Gia surprised.

"He was just playing with you, my dear." Galbatorix smiled "He used you."

"What?" Gia was shocked "That's impossible."

"Do you know why he let Eragon go?" asked Galbatorix.

"Umm…" Gia didn't know what to say.

"He let him go because Eragon can protect the girl he loves." said Galbatorix.

"The girl he loves…" Gia was confused again, unsure what to think.

"The leader of the Varden, a girl called Nasuada." said Galbatorix with anger in his voice "Didn't he tell you something about her?"

"No…" whispered Gia, feeling dizzy.

"I know you maybe don't believe me, but I have seen it all in his mind." said Galbatorix and Gia could see the images of Murtagh and Nasuada kissing that he sent to her mind.

"No!" cried Gia and put her hands on her head, closing her eyes. This was just too much for her. She couldn't see Galbatorix who was smiling wickedly.

"I know how you feel." Galbatorix again faked to be worried "But I'll give you a chance to see him and get your revenge. That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Revenge?" Gia was thinking for a moment "Yes, revenge. I want to see him now."

"No, Gia. That's not a good idea. You'll see him when you get better." smiled Galbatorix "Now someone else wants to see you."

Gia looked at the king surprised.

"You look awful. Better go to your room and when you're done, come to the throne room." said Galbatorix "No need to hurry."

"Thank you, my king." smiled Gia and went out. She ran down the hall and hurried to her room; the images of Murtagh and Nasuada kissing never leaving her mind. She sat on her bed, staring at the mirror in front of her. Her dress was dirty and ripped and her hair was sticky and bloody. She closed her eyes for a moment and tears came to her eyes.

"How could I be so fucking stupid?" Gia said to herself, thinking about everything what happened but now it all seemed like a war of broken memories. She got up from the bed and ripped off her dress in frustration. Then she immediately went to wash the dirt and blood away from her body. She actually wished that water can take away every memory of Murtagh, of his touches, his warm lips and kisses. After some hours she was finally ready and she almost forgot Galbatorix told her someone was waiting for her. She looked at herself in the mirror; her black dress looked nice and her hair was lifted up exactly the same way she used to have it years ago. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the ring that was still on her finger. Now she wanted to take it off more than ever, but that wasn't possible, at least not yet. Once again she tried to use magic and talk to Thorn but she couldn't. She was thinking that Murtagh and Thorn planned it all from the beginning, but all reasons seemed impossible. For a moment she was suspicious about what the king said, but then Nasuada's image came back to her mind. Gia decided she was ready and left her room. While she was walking down the hall, she saw Arien coming towards her.

"Nice to see you." he smiled.

"Fuck off." Gia looked at him angry and wanted to pass by, but he grabbed her arm and pressed her against the wall "Hey! What do you want? Let go of me!"

"Nothing." said Arien and moved away "Just don't take that entire thing too personally."

"Huh." said Gia and went down the hall. She slowly opened the door of the throne room and Galbatorix gave her a sign to come in.

"Well, you look better now." smiled Galbatorix "He will be happy to see you like that."

Gia was even more curious about who that was.

"He's waiting for you outside the castle." said Galbatorix.

"Can I know who?" asked Gia, surprised by Galbatorix's actions; he wasn't acting like she expected. Something seemed wrong.

"It's a surprise." said Galbatorix "But first I need to tell you something."

"Yes, my king?" asked Gia.

"You shouldn't go to see Murtagh before you can use magic again." he said.

"Sure." said Gia, now even more sure that there has to be something behind all this "But can I know why?"

"I don't want him to hurt you or make you believe in something that is not true." said Galbatorix "I see that the ring is still on your finger."

"Umm, yeah." Gia flinched and looked again at the ring "It's just…"

"I know. It will be fine..." said Galbatorix "…after you take your revenge, but don't kill him."

Gia looked at the king suspiciously, but just nodded. She wanted to get in touch with Thorn but she couldn't feel him anywhere; he was probably too weak for anything after almost two days with Shruikan.

"You can go now." said Galbatorix.

"Yes, my king." said Gia and left the throne room. She was walking nervously down the hall, wondering who could be the person waiting for her. When she got outside, she took a deep breath of fresh air. All that dungeon air made her feel sick. Finally she saw a dark figure standing under one tree and she got closer. The man turned around, removed the black hood and fixed a bit his long blond hair. Gia gasped in surprise.


	9. Lost

"What are you doing here?" asked Gia quietly.

"I heard you need me." smiled Zephyr.

"Really?" Gia looked surprised.

"Actually I was going to visit your brother and got near… so now I'm here." he smiled.

"Um, fine." she said.

"Gia, won't you hug your father?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Sure." smiled Gia and they hugged. Gia closed her eyes for a moment and looked at the sky.

"What's wrong? You don't look so good." said Zephyr.

"Nothing…actually everything." sighed Gia "But I don't want to talk about it."

"You failed your task…of course you can't feel good!" Zephyr raised his voice "But luckily the king gave you another chance."

"Yes." whispered Gia "Anyway, how is mum?"

"Oh, she's fine." smiled Zephyr "She just misses you."

"Yeah, I know. But I'm busy here and sending letters…I don't know what to write to her." said Gia.

"Don't worry." Zephyr smiled, looking at Gia carefully and suddenly his face went rigid "What is that?"

"Umm." Gia realized her father is staring at the ring on her hand.

"I know what means that ring! Gia! How could you let that happen?" Zephyr got angry.

"Huh, looks like everyone knew but me! I'm sorry." said Gia.

"Does he at least love you?" said Zephyr coldly.

"I…I don't know." Gia felt dizzy again.

"Perfect! So you're even embarrassing our family!" yelled Zephyr.

"I'll find out the truth soon…maybe you won't have to see the ring again." Gia rolled her eyes.

"Gia! You made the king angry; you fell in love like a stupid little girl and all those pathetic things! What is wrong with you? Weren't you thinking?" Zephyr pushed her lightly.

"Hey! Leave me alone!" Gia was upset "You told me you will support me no matter what I do."

"Yes, I did! But as long as you act reasonably!" he said; his black eyes shined with anger.

"Reasonably?" Gia yelled in surprise "I know what I'm doing!"

"Who is he?" asked Zephyr and rolled his eyes "Probably some pathetic creature."

"He's a Dragon Rider, ok?" Gia was angry.

"Oh, you're sleeping with a Dragon Rider. Your mother would be proud, why don't you tell her?" laughed Zephyr.

"Shut up!" said Gia annoyed.

"Fine." said Zephyr "You said that you don't know does he love you…but you will find out soon, right?"

"Yes." whispered Gia, thinking about Murtagh.

"Great! Then I'll wait to see what will happen." smiled Zephyr.

"What?" asked Gia.

"I wanted to continue my trip but I'll stay here until you find out. I want to know." he smiled.

"Ok." said Gia coldly and wanted to leave "Do what you want."

"Hey, don't worry. It will be fine." he smiled "If I can help…"

"Yeah, yeah…I'll tell you…." Gia smiled for a moment and went back to the castle.

* * *

Two days passed and Gia couldn't take it anymore. She woke up with a headache from last night's drinking party at Nick's restaurant. Slowly she sat up on her bed and started to cry; nothing could make her forget Murtagh.

"No, I won't cry." said Gia to herself and roughly wiped away the tears "Today I have to see him."

She immediately went to look for a dress and put her hair up again; even her own hair on her shoulders would remind her of his touches. When she was ready, she took a deep breath and tried to contact Thorn; he had to be fine by now. But there was a strange barrier blocking her from the red dragon and it wasn't coming from him. Gia was suspicious again, but decided to ignore it and go to see Murtagh.

"I need to see him." said Gia to one of the guards when she got in front of the dungeon.

"You can't. The king doesn't allow anyone in." said the guard.

"Oh, really? Fuck that!" said Gia angrily, pushed both soldiers away with magic and opened the door. The soldiers tried to get up and stop her but she closed the door before they could get to her. Gia immediately saw Murtagh sitting in the dark corner and she felt like her heart is going to jump out of her chest. She tried to take a deep breath to calm down but she felt like someone took the air away from her, making her gasp. For a moment she was just standing there, unsure what to do or what to say. Finally Murtagh looked up at her.

"Gia…" he whispered.

"What did they do to you…" Gia's voice was lower than a whisper. Murtagh was covered in blood; his clothes ripped and dirty.

"Gia…" he said her name again.

"How are you?" Gia didn't know what else to say; he was close to her again and all she wanted now is to touch him.

"Just glad that you're fine." he said and smiled a bit. Gia got a bit closer to him and finally sat down next to him.

"I…I don't know what to say." Gia felt lost again. Murtagh gently pulled her arm and kissed her. It made Gia feel like her life was back. She slowly moved closer to him and kissed him passionately once again.

"Why is your hair like that?" suddenly asked Murtagh and Gia moved away from him like he burned her with fire; she remembered why she was there.

"We need to talk." she said coldly.

"What's wrong?" asked Murtagh, feeling the tension in her voice.

"Are you just playing with me?" asked Gia.

"What are you talking about?" Murtagh tried to get up, but he was too weak. Gia closed her eyes for a moment and whispered a healing spell. Murtagh immediately got behind her back and put his hands around her waist.

"Don't fucking touch me!" yelled Gia in frustration and pushed him away.

"What are you doing?" asked Murtagh, looking at her carefully.

"You don't really love me, do you?" said Gia; tears appeared in her eyes.

"Gia, don't act stupid." said Murtagh "I really don't understand…is it because of our task?"

"You love her…you love the leader of the Varden!" yelled Gia.

"Oh, don't be silly!" said Murtagh.

"I saw it all, damn it!" said Gia "You lied to me!"

"I don't know what got into your head. I don't have anything to explain to you!" said Murtagh annoyed.

"Great! Then it's true!" she yelled and Murtagh wanted to say something but in that moment the door opened. The soldiers came with Galbatorix and the king was looking angry.

"Gia, you know what you wanted to know…now it's better you get out. You'll do the rest later." said Galbatorix.

"Sure." said Gia; all she wanted know is to get out of the room.

"Hey, wait!" said Murtagh and Gia just turned around angrily and hit him hard in the face. Then she just ran out of the room. When she left, Galbatorix started to laugh.

"What did you do to her?" yelled Murtagh angrily.

"Nothing." laughed Galbatorix "But I told you you're going to pay for what you've done."

Murtagh gritted his teeth angrily; he wanted to kill the king right now and he would but the ancient language stopped him.

* * *

Gia was running down the hall, tears going down her face. Zephyr saw her and caught her into his arms.

"Gia, what happened?" he asked worried.

"I can't take it anymore. I can't!" cried Gia.

"It's ok, Gia. It will be fine. Don't cry." said Zephyr, hugging her gently "We'll find a way to solve this problem. Just tell me what happened."

They went to Gia's room and she told him everything, still crying a bit but then getting calmer.

"But he didn't actually tell you what he feels." noticed Zephyr.

"He didn't have to! It's all clear to me!" said Gia "I saw him kissing that girl! And he is protecting her like the king said. He didn't try to deny it! And…he needs me to help him or heal him or whatever!"

"Gia, did you ask him to tell you the truth in ancient language?" asked Zephyr.

"No, but it doesn't matter. You told me that words mean nothing." sighed Gia "And if he found a way to get out from doing his task…he can lie again."

"True. But did you do what I taught you? What did you see in his eyes?" asked Zephyr, looking deep into Gia's eyes.

"I didn't really…" said Gia quietly.

"Perfect! Just perfect! You don't believe his words, you don't want to hear what he has to say…you don't look at him…then how did you saw the truth?" Zephyr raised his voice "I think you saw what you wanted to see. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I don't know!" Gia yelled, feeling dizzy "I can't…"

"Gia, look at me!" said Zephyr, but she was just staring at the floor.

"I have to finish with this. It's killing me." whispered Gia, touching the ring on her finger.

"Look at me!" yelled Zephyr and put his hand on Gia's face, forcing her to look at him "What do you see?"

"You're right." she whispered "I did it all wrong."

"Nothing new for you." smiled Zephyr and gently kissed her forehead "I'm sure you can do it right. Trust me."

"Yes, I think I can." said Gia and smiled at her father "But when I'm close to him…it's just a different story."

"I know. But forget your heart a little bit." said Zephyr "Do you think it's a good idea to be with him if the king controls him?"

"We're both here." said Gia surprised; she never thought about it actually "I don't see the problem."

"No, I don't mean that. Of course you both live here…but if one day the king orders him to kill you, he'll have to do it." said Zephyr, hoping that his daughter won't be upset about it "Well, I hope that won't happen but you have to think on every possibility."

"I can't…I simply can't think on anything right now! I don't even know what is really going on. I don't know does he love me." said Gia "I need a drink."

"Ok, go and clear your thoughts." said Zephyr "But be careful. You know what happened last time when you had this kind of situation."

"Umm, fine." said Gia and left to room, almost running to get to Nick's restaurant as fast as she could.

* * *

"Gia! Didn't expect to see you!" smiled Nick as usual.

"Give me something…special." suddenly said Gia, sitting on the first chair she saw.

"Special, huh?" Nick was surprised and looked around until he smiled "Yeah, got it! But can I know why?"

"I'm in a killing mood." said Gia and grabbed the bottle out of Nick's hand. He just stood there for a second in shock.

"Do you know when was the last time you said that?" he asked worried.

"Perfectly." she said and gave him a daring look.

"Oh, no. Gia, that's not good…" said Nick.

"I know, but I'm going to kill that bitch…" said Gia angrily "…annoying, ugly leader of the Varden…"

"So it's true about her and…?" asked Nick curiously.

"I'm not sure yet." said Gia "If it's true, they'll both die."

"Umm, Gia, the king won't like the idea and you can't do that!" said Nick "It would mean your death."

"Let me dream, ok?" yelled Gia annoyed "I just know that I can't live without him. Maybe the king would let me to be with him…he would be my prisoner forever…"

"Wow, Gia! You're having crazy thoughts." said Nick "And did you try another way to find out the truth? You wouldn't have to think about crazy ideas then."

"You know I would have killed him right on the spot if he was a normal man." said Gia "I want him to be mine and only mine. And all other ways to find out the truth failed. I actually wonder why are all of you trying to convince me I'm wrong…I mean…it seems like you're doing that."

"Because we know you…and you can't make same mistake again." said Nick quietly, hoping that no one will hear them "So wake up from your stupid dreams and theories, and do what you have to!"

"Hey! Don't annoy me!" yelled Gia and it made her feel dizzy; the drink she took was affecting her again. She tried to get up but suddenly she fainted and fell down on the floor.

"Gia!" Nick yelled shocked and hurried to get to her.


	10. Fire

"Gia, Gia!" Nick was holding her in his arms, not knowing what to do "Come on! Please, wake up! I'm not ready to be responsible for your death! Come on!"

"Umm…" Gia moved her lips a bit.

"Oh, finally!" Nick was happy again. He knew it wouldn't be good for his restaurant if someone had died there; people get scared easily.

"Huh…what…happened?" asked Gia confused while she was trying to get up.

"You fainted, girl!" said Nick and helped her to sit on the chair.

"Umm, what?" Gia put her hands on her head, trying to stop the pain she felt.

"Are you feeling okay?" asked Nick.

"…yeah…" Gia's answer sounded weird.

"Okay." said Nick and raised his hand "How many fingers do you see?"

"Four?" Gia looked at Nick who laughed because he raised only two fingers "Five?"

"Oh, Gia! Just go back to the castle and go to sleep!" said Nick. He didn't want Gia to stay here in this condition.

"…you're…boring!" said Gia and slowly got up from the chair. She went to the door somehow and got out. Then again the pain in her head was too strong and all she could see was the dark.

* * *

Gia woke up and immediately sat up. On her surprise she was sitting on a huge bed and the room she was in was big and nice. She was shocked; she didn't actually remember everything that happened yesterday but she was sure that this part was not in her memory.

"How are you?" she heard male voice coming from another part of the room, making her gasp. She stared at the man who was standing at the door and looking at her. His hair was short and dark brown. Gia immediately noticed his full lips and beautiful smile on his nicely shaped face. His clothes was dark and she could tell that he was probably very rich; the room also had nice furniture.

"Umm, depends." Gia said and realized that she wasn't in her dress anymore "Oh, fuck!"

"Depends on what?" the man came closer to her, still smiling.

"Who are you and where is my dress?" Gia looked at him suspiciously.

"My name is Tristan." he smiled "And your dress was ripped and dirty. I got you a new one."

"Wow." Gia was surprised "You got me a new dress? Oh, come on! Why?"

"You're beautiful and you needed a dress that fits." Tristan said and gave her long light blue dress.

"Huh." Gia rolled her eyes. Firstly, that color was ugly for a dress and it looked weird. Secondly, she remembered the guy's name; she heard people talking about him in Nick's restaurant. He was telling beautiful things to almost every girl, no matter what was the truth.

"What's wrong?" he asked "You don't like it?"

"Don't worry. I'll fix it a bit and it will be fine." Gia smiled "Can you give me a minute to change?"

"Yes, sure." he smiled again "But first tell me what's your name?"

"Gia." she said.

"Nice name!" he said and headed for the door.

"_Whatever, you stupid asshole!_" thought Gia but smiled at him again "Thanks!"

When he finally got out of the room and closed the door, Gia jumped out of the bed and took the dress. Using magic, she managed to change the color into black and then put it on. Obviously she slept for a long time since her magic was working right. Her hair was a mess and she just lifted it up.

"I have to get out of here." she whispered to herself and looked around the room to see is there another way out. She looked through the window and realized it's too high to jump out. 

"Are you ready?" asked Tristan, opening the door a little bit.

"Umm, yeah." said Gia and bit her lip not laugh when she saw the look on Tristan's face.

"The dress…" he was confused "You…"

"I'm sorry. I didn't like the color." Gia smiled "Is that ok?"

"Yeah…but how did you…? he still didn't get it.

"I'm a magician." Gia said and tried to look as dangerous as she could.

"A magician? Interesting." he said.

"I should be going now." she smiled and headed for the door.

"You're leaving already?" he sounded disappointed "Why?"

"I don't want people to get worried and start looking for me, ok?" she said seriously "Do you want that the king gets mad?"

"Umm, no." he said "But I found you unconscious on the street! Now I see why no one tried to help you…you work for the king."

"It's not that exactly…but whatever." said Gia "I'm fine now. Thanks for…helping me."

"I believe I saved your life." Tristan said "Won't I get some kind of reward?"

"Reward?" Gia raised an eyebrow "What do you want?"

"I want to see you again." Tristan said with sad look in his eyes.

"_Oh, how pathetic…I'm supposed to be melting or something…that puppy eyes…_" thought Gia and said "Ok. If you want to see me, come…I live in the king's castle."

"That's fine. I'll see you then!" he smiled.

"_Fuck! I hoped he won't like the idea and give up._" thought Gia nervously "See you!"

She almost ran out of the house and hurried down the street; she wanted to get away from him as fast as she could.

* * *

"Gia! Where have you been?" said Zephyr when Gia finally appeared in the castle "I was so worried!"

"I'm fine…I just…" Gia was searching for the best thing to say "…having fun…"

"Oh, well…but you were supposed to get back sooner"said Zephyr.

"I had to…think about everything." she said "You wanted me to do that, didn't you?"

"Yes and did you…? said Zephyr "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to do what you told me." she said "I don't want to loose him just like that."

"And what if he really loves you?" asked Zephyr.

"I'll stay with him." she said quietly "I don't care what others will think about that, including the king."

"Huh, it's seems like you really love to make silly decisions." said Zephyr "Do whatever you want but don't make the king angry."

"Whatever." Gia rolled her eyes "I'm going to see the king now."

"Why?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Just trust me on this one, ok?" she smiled.

"Huh…" he wasn't really convinced but Gia already hurried to get to the throne room before her father could react and stop her. The atmosphere in the throne room was uncomfortable.

"My king…" Gia looked at Galbatorix who was sitting on his chair; his face was rigid.

"Yes, Gia?" Galbatorix asked, looking at her carefully.

"I want to see Murtagh again." said Gia.

"Why?" Galbatorix sounded annoyed.

"I want him to suffer a bit more." said Gia, hoping that Galbatorix won't try to read her mind.

"Oh, well…then go. Do what you want." Galbatorix seemed indifferent. 

"Thank you, my king." said Gia and left the throne room. 

* * *

Gia hid behind the wall when she got closer to the dungeon because the soldiers were standing in front of it. Now she had a permission to get in, but she wanted to pass unseen in case that the king changes his mind. Of course, the soldiers didn't stand there all the time; Gia knew that soon they will leave so the dungeon will stay unprotected for a moment. After few minutes, the soldiers went to another side of the hall. 

"_Perfectly._" thought Gia and hurried to get inside before new soldiers came. When she closed the door, Murtagh saw her.

"Gia." said Murtagh coldly, standing in the corner of the dark room "What do you want?"

"I need to…actually…" Gia got another idea what to ask "Can you talk to Thorn?"

"Yes, why?" asked Murtagh.

"Umm, I was just curious." said Gia, getting even more suspicious why she couldn't do it then.

"Anything else to say? Or you're going to attack me with your crazy ideas?" Murtagh rolled his eyes.

"Please tell me the truth. Did you kiss that girl?" said Gia, still standing close to the door.

"Why would I say anything? You won't even listen!" he said.

"I'm asking you this for the last time…I promise." she said quietly.

"No, I didn't kiss Nasuada." said Murtagh coldly "Anything else?"

"But the king…I saw…" Gia was confused and she was walking slowly closer to Murtagh.

"I don't know what you saw, but I know what I did." said Murtagh, finally getting closer to Gia. They were standing in the middle of the room, looking at each other.

"I don't understand…why would the king lie about that to me?" Gia didn't know what to think.

"Huh. Don't be stupid." Murtagh laughed "You really believe everything Galbatorix says?"

"Hey, now I don't trust anyone…" said Gia and Murtagh got closer to her. He raised his hand a bit, holding it close to Gia but didn't touch her face. She gasped but didn't stop looking deep into his eyes. For a moment they were standing there. Not moving. Not even breathing, just staring at each other's eyes.

"I don't like this." whispered Murtagh and put his hand gently on her face, then moving slowly to her hair and letting it fell down on her shoulders. Suddenly they both smiled and Murtagh pulled Gia into his arms and started to kiss her passionately. They didn't have to say anything else and they were already touching each other with wild desire. Gia's hands were under Murtagh's shirt, while he was kissing her neck and ripping her dress. Murtagh took her into his arms and lifted her up, carrying her across the room while they were kissing. He let go of her, pushing her roughly against the wall. Gia started to laugh and whispered something in ancient language. In that moment the water appeared above them and Murtagh looked at Gia curiously. She just smiled and let the water fall on them. They looked at each other, completely wet and started to kiss passionately. Gia moved her hand through Murtagh's hair while he kept pushing her against the wall. She could feel the beating of her heart getting faster and faster. Suddenly she moved away from him, walking slowly away from the wall and grabbed his arm. She pulled him with her and they kissed again. He lifted her up into his arms and laid her on the floor. She shivered from the cold stone touching her skin. Murtagh got on top of her, kissing her gently. She smiled at him as he was kissing her neck, then her stomach, going lower and lower and touching her legs. Gia closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. She put her hands around his head and made him face her again. 

"I missed you." she whispered as he put her legs apart and started to kiss her again. His movements got faster and stronger; their breathing was getting deeper and Gia could no longer feel the cold of the floor, just the warmth of Murtagh's body. Suddenly they heard noise coming from outside and looked at each other in panic. 

"Don't stop." whispered Gia and they could now hear Galbatorix's voice from outside; the king ordered to the soldiers to open the door. Murtagh gave Gia a daring look and she smiled, looking at the fire in his eyes. They heard the door open and they closed their eyes and whispered something in ancient language. In that moment the fire rose around them as they were taken away by the final wave of passion. They could only hear the king yelling something so they immediately got up and looked around for their clothes. The fire was gone exactly when Gia managed to put on her dress somehow. 

"What are you two doing?" yelled Galbatorix angrily.

"Umm…" Gia smiled, fixing her wet hair a bit.

"So, Gia, you decided to believe him?" Galbatorix was furious.

"Yes." said Gia quietly "I believe my decision doesn't have anything to do with you, my king."

"No? Are you sure?" said Galbatorix "You know, I could easily make him do anything against you."

"Why?" asked Gia "There is no reason…"

"Leave her alone." said Murtagh "Leave her alone and I'll bring you Saphira."

"You'll bring me Saphira anyway! You don't have other choice!" laughed Galbatorix.

"Are you sure about that?" Murtagh raised an eyebrow.

"Of course…" laughed Galbatorix then his face became serious again "…unless you want to die."

"If I can't be with her, I don't want to live." said Murtagh and Gia stared at him in shock.

"Huh, if that's how it is…" said Galbatorix coldly "But…I say this…if you don't bring me Saphira, she dies."

"Wait, what?" Gia was shocked.

"I'm sorry, dear, but that's what you get for falling in love with a wrong person." said Galbatorix "I tried to help you…"

"I'll bring Saphira." said Murtagh self-confidently and looked at Gia who couldn't move from shock. 

"Good." said Galbatorix "You have one month to do that. I don't care how."

The king went out of the room and ordered to soldiers to leave. Gia and Murtagh were alone again. She took a deep breath and looked at him.

"I'm sorry." said Murtagh "But I won't let anything happen to you."

"Thank you." whispered Gia and bit her lip to stop tears that were forming in her eyes.

"For what?" asked Murtagh surprised, getting closer to her and gently touching her face.

"No one has ever done something like this for me." she said quietly "You would die for me…that is so…I don't know what to say."

"I can't live without you." said Murtagh "I need you. And I know what we are going to do."

"Ok." said Gia and looked at her dirty dress "I'm going to change. See you later."

"See you." smiled Murtagh and they kissed. 


	11. Crazy

"_What were you thinking?_" Thorn roared angrily in Murtagh's mind.

"_I know, I was wrong! But I just wanted him to leave us alone!_" said Murtagh while he was walking to his room.

"_Don't you get it? You put her in danger!_" said Thorn.

"_We'll get Saphira, ok? Gia will be fine._" said Murtagh, trying to convince himself in what he was saying.

"_Huh. I guess I'll have to wake you up from this silly dream you're having._" sighed Thorn "_If we don't get Saphira, Gia is dead. But, if we actually get Saphira here, Galbatorix doesn't need any of us. So that would make us all…dead!_"

"_And what do you want me to do, Thorn?_" Murtagh got angry "_I'll do anything to keep her safe and you know it! We just need a good plan how to get her out of here._"

"_Oh, yeah. Like that is going to be easy! Galbatorix will watch every step she makes!_" said Thorn.

"_I'll think of something…_" said Murtagh.

"_Would you die for her?_" suddenly asked Thorn.

"_Thorn, stop annoying me! I have to think!_" said Murtagh.

"_Oh, so now I'm annoying you? I would say you're just avoiding to answer my question._" said Thorn upset.

"_Fuck off, Thorn!_" said Murtagh angrily.

"_Hey! Act like that again and I'll kill you!_" Thorn was furious.

"_You won't! You're not suicidal_" Murtagh rolled his eyes "_I don't want to talk to you anymore! You are my dragon and you will do what I say! No matter what I decide, you'll be with me!_"

"_Fine!_" said Thorn and they both broke their mental connection.

* * *

"_Thorn…_" Gia was trying to contact Thorn again while she was sitting on the bed in her room.

"_Gia!_" Thorn's voice sounded upset and sweet in the same time.

"_Is something wrong?_" asked Gia suspiciously "_That's the first time I finally managed to contact you since…_"

"_Yeah, I know. Galbatorix didn't let me talk to you._" said Thorn.

"_But something is wrong…you're…I don't know._" said Gia.

"_I'm fine._" said Thorn "_Will you come to see me?_"

"_I don't know will the king let me…but I'll try, ok?_" said Gia.

"_Are you angry on Murtagh?_" suddenly asked Thorn.

"_No, why?_" said Gia nervously.

"_He's risking your life._" said Thorn "_And I don't want…_"

"_It will be fine. I have…a plan._" said Gia hesitantly.

"_A plan?_" Thorn asked surprised.

"_Yeah, but I can't say more…the king mustn't know._" said Gia.

"_Sure. So if you are thinking of something…you don't trust us, do you?_" said Thorn "_You don't really believe him he will save your life?_"

"_It's not that. I just need you two to do something for me, ok?_" said Gia nervously.

"_What is it?_" asked Thorn.

"_You'll have to keep the king busy for some time. I need to have a private conversation with someone, but completely private. It's a part of the plan._" said Gia, carefully checking is someone trying to read her mind.

"_Ok. When?_" asked Thorn.

"_I don't know yet. Just talk to Murtagh and tell me, ok?_" said Gia "_Be careful. It's very important._"

"_Sure._" said Thorn and broke their mental connection.

* * *

"_Umm, Murtagh?_" said Thorn hesitantly after some moments.

"_What?_" asked Murtagh coldly.

"_Gia needs us to do her a favor._" said Thorn "_We have to keep the king busy for some time._"

"_Why?_" asked Murtagh.

"_It doesn't matter why!_" said Thorn "_I can't say._"

"_Huh, keeping Galbatorix busy? If she tries to escape, magicians and soldiers will stop her._" said Murtagh.

"_Yeah, but she won't do that. Only the king will be checking her mind all the time. But if he gets distracted, no one else will do it._" said Thorn.

"_Yeah…but he can find out later._" said Murtagh.

"_True. But I believe she's taking that risk. Maybe he won't think that something happened in so little time._" said Thorn.

"_Could be. But if that fails, you can try to hide it. The king won't count on that maybe._" said Murtagh.

"_And what do you think I'm doing all this time?_" Thorn got angry again.

"_Ok, ok! I guess I'm going to have a nice conversation with the king then._" said Murtagh.

"_I'll tell Gia to prepare._" said Thorn.

"_Ok, I'm going to the throne room. And you better tell to Gia that she'll pay for every scratch I get._" said Murtagh and went out of the room.

* * *

"_Gia! He went._" said Thorn. Gia took a deep breath and tried to think about something not so important. She got in the bed like she's going to sleep and thought about her mother and other boring things from her childhood.

"_Now!_" said Thorn when Murtagh got in the throne room. Gia got out of the bed fast and ran down the hall. She went to one of the rooms and found her father standing there.

"Gia!" said Zephyr surprised.

"You have to listen to me. We don't have much time! It's very important." said Gia nervously "If Murtagh doesn't bring Saphira here in a month…the king said I'm going to die."

"What?" Zephyr stared at Gia in shock.

"Please! No time for explanations. You need to leave! You know some people; the king has to die." said Gia angrily "Find out everything you can and go to see Eragon, that Dragon Rider who is with the Varden. He can be useful."

"I believe I know what you're thinking. But do we have a plan B? This is little bit…umm, unsafe?" said Zephyr upset.

"Just act normal. Go away like you're supposed to. Don't make it look suspicious. The dragon will help us." said Gia "And I don't have a plan B. Invent one!"

"Ok, Gia! But I told you your obsession with that Rider will be dangerous!" said Zephyr.

"Yeah, yeah! I have to go now!" said Gia.

"Always leaving the final job for others? Great." said Zephyr "See you."

Gia rolled her eyes and ran out of the room. After some moments she was back to her room, again in the bed like she was some minutes ago. One hour passed and Gia heard the door of her room open. She saw Murtagh standing there.

"Hey." Gia smiled at him. She felt Thorn's presence in her mind and knew they are safe for a moment.

"I got two cuts and four bruises while talking to the king…because of you!" said Murtagh, not moving from the door.

"Not bad." laughed Gia "What did you talk about?"

"You don't want to know…mostly about Eragon and Saphira." said Murtagh "He didn't agree with my opinion, as you can see. Now act like this conversation never happened. Thorn can't protect us any longer."

"Hey." said Gia like she just saw him.

"I missed you." he said and entered the room, closing the door.

"I don't believe you." she said with a playful smile on her face.

"Ok, I can prove it to you." he said and got in the bed next to her, kissing her gently.

"Will you stay with me?" whispered Gia quietly.

"Yes." he smiled "But I need to talk with you first."

"Oh?" Gia was surprised.

"About you and me." said Murtagh.

"What about us?" asked Gia nervously, moving away from him a bit.

"I think we should get married before I go…" he looked deep into her eyes.

"What?" she stared at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, I want you to be mine…completely." he whispered "And that whole world knows it."

"You're crazy!" Gia started to laugh "I thought we don't need that stupid thing! And I don't care what people think…"

"Come on, Gia! It would be special." said Murtagh.

"No way!" said Gia "I'm not getting married. Not now. Not yet!"

"Why?" asked Murtagh "Do you think you'll meet someone else? Do you think I won't make it?"

"No! I can't live without you…" said Gia.

"And you won't…" said Murtagh quietly.

"What?" Gia raised an eyebrow. In that moment someone knocked on the door.

"Yes?" said Gia and a maid opened the door "What?"

"There is a guy looking for you, Gia." said the maid.

"Now?" Gia was shocked.

"Yes, he said his name is Tristan." said the maid.

"Umm, tell him I'm coming, ok?" said Gia nervously.

"Yes, sure." said the maid and closed the door. Gia immediately got up from the bed and looked for a dress. She picked the black one and put it on.

"Who is he?" asked Murtagh coldly.

"Just some guy…" said Gia, fixing her hair.

"What does he want?" asked Murtagh suspiciously.

"I don't know." said Gia "I'm going to see."

* * *

Gia hurried down the hall and saw Tristan standing at the end of it. He smiled when he saw her.

"Wow, even more beautiful than before." smiled Tristan.

"What do you want?" Gia rolled her eyes.

"Just came to see you." said Tristan and got closer to her "I hope you still remember I saved your life."

"Huh." said Gia annoyed "Stay away from me!"

"Come on, I don't want anything special…anything expensive…just you." he put his hand on Gia's face.

"Why do you play with fire?" asked Gia and pushed him away.

"I wouldn't be doing this if I knew that you don't want this…" said Tristan "I can make your dreams come true…"

"What do you know about what I want?" said Gia "You know nothing about me."

"You're wrong." smiled Tristan "I know what you like…I'll let you do to me whatever you want…one night of passion."

"Huh?" Gia didn't look convinced.

"Listen to me, Gia. I'm asking for just one night…and then if you're not happy, you can kill me." said Tristan "But I'm sure you'll be asking for more…"

"Wow, I can't believe how self-confident you are…and how stupid." said Gia.

"Tell me the idea doesn't excite you." he smiled. Gia looked at him for a moment, not knowing what to do. The guy was a total jerk, but a good-looking jerk. And it wasn't such a bad idea, considering that her life could end soon if Murtagh fails. Suddenly someone came behind her back and hugged her, making her gasp. She turned around a bit and saw Murtagh.

"Is everything ok?" asked Murtagh, looking coldly at Tristan who was surprised a bit.

"Umm…" Gia realized what Murtagh was doing; he was checking Tristan's mind and she had to stop it "_Don't! The guy is sick._"

"If you don't mind, I would like to finish my conversation with the lady." said Tristan.

"You can do that right here." said Murtagh.

"And who are you?" asked Tristan.

"Gia is mine." said Murtagh coldly.

"You can't talk like that about her. She's not your property. Not even your wife." said Tristan and looked at Gia "Do you want me to leave?"

"Yes." said Gia and looked at Murtagh who was holding her in his arms "Just go!"

But Tristan didn't move, just stared in shock at them. Murtagh gently pulled Gia closer to him and started to kiss her passionately. Finally Gia pushed him away and looked back at the spot where Tristan was standing. She gasped as she saw him on the floor.

"You killed him?" Gia looked at Murtagh.

"No one will ever touch you…except me." said Murtagh and smiled "You see, it would be much better if we got married…then people would know about it and no one would dare to touch Dragon Rider's wife."

"I could have killed him myself. I don't care how many of them come, I can deal with them." said Gia.

"You didn't look like you planned to kill him actually." said Murtagh "He was pretty sure about what he was doing."

"He was crazy, ok? I wanted to have fun with him." said Gia.

"Fun? Huh." Murtagh looked at her suspiciously.

"Yes. But I guess I'll have to do that with you." smiled Gia "Come here!"

"Ok." Murtagh let her take him back to her room "You know the king might be…watching…"

"Well, let's make a good show then!" smiled Gia "To make him stop watching!"

"Of course." smiled Murtagh and they started to kiss passionately.


	12. The end

Days were passing by too fast and the tension in Galbatorix's castle was getting bigger and bigger. Gia was walking nervously down the hall, looking for Murtagh.

"When?" was the only thing Gia said when she finally found him.

"Tomorrow." said Murtagh; he knew what she meant without reading her mind.

"And? Will you tell me what's your plan?" asked Gia.

"No." said Murtagh coldly, staring at his sword.

"Do you actually have one?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes!" he looked at her annoyed "Do you think I want you dead?"

"Well, you are waiting for the last moment to go!" said Gia "So what am I supposed to think?"

"Fuck it, Gia!" said Murtagh, grabbing her arm and pressing her against the wall "I'm doing what's the best for us. And if something happens…at least we had more moments together!"

"Very convincing!" said Gia, looking at him angrily. Suddenly she took the sword out of his hand and cut her arm a bit.

"What are you doing?" Murtagh looked at her surprised.

"Remember that you're carrying my blood on that sword…my blood…and if you fail…well, you know!" said Gia, looking deep into his eyes.

"I won't fail!" yelled Murtagh "Stop saying that!"

"Fine." said Gia "I really hope you know what you're doing…and that you won't feel sorry or something for your pathetic little brother."

"Shut up!" said Murtagh angrily "Actually, you know what? I'm leaving right now! I can't stand this anymore!"

"Fine! Then go!" said Gia and ran out of the room.

* * *

Two hours passed after Murtagh left and Gia decided to visit Nick's restaurant. She needed someone to talk to and she actually got Galbatorix's permission to go there but two magicians were following her.

"Gia!" Nick smiled but then his smile was gone in a second when he saw that Gia didn't come alone "What…?"

"The king…" Gia said shortly. Magicians were standing in the corner and keeping an eye on her from a distance.

"Here you are." said Nick, giving her the drink.

"He left." suddenly said Gia after few moments of silence.

"Murtagh?" asked Nick surprised.

"Yes. Now I just have to wait…" said Gia "I feel sick."

"Sick?" Nick looked at her.

"He's gone for two hours and I already miss him!" sighed Gia "Give me another drink."

"Sure." said Nick, giving her another glass of wine. Suddenly a boy ran into the restaurant, almost breaking a chair in front of him. Everyone looked at him surprised.

"Miss Gia?" the boy looked around the room.

"Yes?" Gia was surprised. The boy came closer to her.

"It's done." he whispered into her ear and ran out. Gia looked after him confused.

"What was that?" asked Nick suspiciously.

"I have no idea." said Gia, feeling dizzy from the wine "I think I should go back to the castle."

"Ok." said Nick and looked at magicians "I don't like to have these two around. They're scaring the guests!"

"Yeah, whatever." said Gia and went out. While she was walking back to the castle, she noticed that it's somehow quiet.

"What happened here?" asked Gia, but two magicians who were following her didn't say anything. She entered the castle and finally those two left her alone. There was a maid standing in the hall.

"Why is so quiet here?" asked Gia.

"Oh, soldiers just left." said the maid with a smile on her face.

"Why?" Gia was surprised.

"Umm, the king sent them to help Murtagh." said the maid, her face getting red. She wasn't supposed to know that, but Gia knew that she won't try to hide it in front of magician. Actually everyone knew that the maid was in love with one soldier.

"Huh, really?" Gia was thinking for a moment "So, the magicians went with them?"

"Yes." said the maid. Gia laughed, but she couldn't let herself to think about things that would put her in danger.

"Well, this place will be totally boring…the king, servants, 3 magicians and a dragon." smiled Gia.

"I have to go…" said the maid and hurried down the hall. Gia went to her room and fell down on her bed; she was tired and the wine made her sleepy.

* * *

Gia wasn't sure how much time passed by or what time was it. She just saw the light coming from outside. Slowly she made her way to the door and saw the maid in the hall.

"You're finally awake!" said the maid happily.

"Finally?" Gia raised an eyebrow "How long did I sleep?"

"Umm, almost whole day!" said the maid.

"Wait, what?" Gia was shocked.

"I guess you were just tired." smiled the maid.

"Huh." said Gia and went down the hall. She certainly didn't feel like she slept that long. When she got close to the throne room, she stopped for a moment. It was silly to think should she go to ask the king or not because he probably knew already what she wanted. In the moment she opened the door, Galbatorix looked at her.

"Yes, you did." said the king coldly.

"Umm…" Gia didn't like this. No one before controlled her all the time, especially not her thoughts.

"Gia, something is going on with you…just I didn't realize yet…what is it all about." said the king, looking her carefully.

"I don't know what are you talking about, my king." said Gia "Nothing is going on with me."

"Are you hiding something?" suddenly asked Galbatorix.

"No, my king." said Gia, trying to control her thoughts as best as she could "Nothing can escape you…"

"Hm, true." smiled the king and got up from his chair "I guess you'll be free…"

"What?" Gia looked at him surprised.

"I can feel the dragon…blue dragon…" laughed Galbatorix.

Gia gasped from shock. She wasn't sure what was going on because it would be way too fast that they come back so early. Something must have gone wrong. But the king took no notice of it probably because he was so occupied with his own thoughts of victory that he didn't have any feeling of the time. After some moments the door opened and the king suddenly fell down on the floor, looking shocked. Gia stared at the scene in front of her in shock. Men in dark clothes ran into the room and Gia was sure that the one in the middle was Eragon. She immediately hid behind one of the bookcases as the magic filled the room. Suddenly everything started to shake. Gia realized that something crashed in the one part of the castle.

She had to think fast; she knew that she couldn't just walk by all those enemy magicians even they were doing her a favor. But the castle could crash any moment and she had to get out. There were secret passages somewhere in the throne room, but she wasn't sure where. She didn't have other choice than to touch the walls and look for something that could lead to the way out. The room was shaking again and Gia looked back at the king, who was still on the floor. Eragon made a step forward with sharp blue sword in his hand and stuck it into the king's heart. In that moment, a wave of black magic filled the room as Galbatorix fell down dead. A loud painful roar could be heard from outside and something crashed into the castle again. Gia felt something under her fingers and used magic to open the secret door. She immediately ran down the dark and small hall. It didn't really matter where it led as long as it was far away from the throne room and Eragon and his magicians. When she got to the end and opened something that felt like the door, she was blinded for a moment by the light. That was a good thing because it meant that she was out of the castle but then someone grabbed her arm. She tried to get away, but her eyes were still blind.

"Gia, stop!" she heard her father's voice "Come on, we have to go!"

"The king is dead!" said Gia, while her father was leading her away from the castle. For the first time Gia noticed big stone blocks that fell from destroyed part of the castle. She gasped as she saw huge motionless black dragon's body on the ground between the blocks.

"Why?" she whispered quietly, feeling sad.

"Shruikan would have died a long time ago, if Galbatorix had let him go." said Zephyr "You know it the best. Now come with me! We don't have much time. Trust me, you don't want to be here when they finish."

"Wait." Gia suddenly stopped, looking at her father and the horses that we waiting for them near "Is this a dream? Is this all fake?"

* * *

"Gia, what are you talking about?" Zephyr was surprised "Come on!"

"No! I'm not going anywhere until you explain something to me!" said Gia, unsure what to think.

"Gia! We'll talk later! Now let's just get to the horses and get away from here!" said Zephyr "Then you can ask whatever you want!"

"Fine." said Gia and hurried after her father who was already taking his horse. As they were riding fast away from the castle, Gia looked back at the scene of the dead dragon and destroyed castle. That was so strange for her to see.

"What did you want to ask?" asked Zephyr when they couldn't see the castle anymore.

"It's just hard to believe…this…all what happened." said Gia "But there are some strange things I want you to explain to me."

"Sure. Just say." said Zephyr, looking at her carefully.

"This all looked way too easy." said Gia "The king died so fast and…it looked pathetic."

"Yes, of course it looks easy when you didn't do a damn thing!" said Zephyr, little bit upset "But there is one thing you should know. The king wasn't so strong like he believed and like he made us all believe."

"But then why people were afraid of him?" asked Gia "Why did they let him rule?"

"He was a very powerful magician, but not enough for Eragon and like twenty of the best magicians." said Zephyr "But before magicians didn't believe others enough to go together against the king. Eragon is the one…"

"Yeah, yeah…" Gia rolled her eyes "He's special one! Got it!"

"You should stay away from him." said Zephyr "I didn't tell him anything about you…"

"Good." said Gia and looked suspiciously at her father "How did you attack in the middle of the day? The night would usually be for this kind of things."

"Gia, what are you saying all the time? You sound like you don't believe this is real." laughed Zephyr.

"I have my reasons, ok?" said Gia coldly.

"Huh, you're serious about this?" he looked at her surprised "Ok, then…do you want to hear the whole story?"

"Yes." said Gia quietly.

"Well, after you told me your life is in danger…I knew what to do. I went immediately to the Varden and looked for Eragon. I told him that Murtagh is coming for him with the army and that the best thing is to kill the king…what he already knew, but oh, well…" said Zephyr "So Eragon got all magicians he could find to get through the woods unseen. It was a very hard job…blocks, barriers…horrible! Then we waited near the castle…Galbatorix had to stay almost alone…and when everyone left…we knew that we are powerful enough to hide in front of Galbatorix's eyes…especially at daytime…because at night everyone is more careful, and expecting something to happen…like you said…these things usually happen at night. Then we looked for a moment when the king will be busy…then his magic protection would be weaker…I guess he was talking to you…and I let them go in. The rest you saw."

"Umm. That's more possible…and what about the maids and those who were at the castle?" asked Gia.

"They are all dead." said Zephyr "We had to kill them."

"Oh, and how did I then stay alive?" Gia looked at him shocked.

"I used protection on you." said Zephyr "Didn't have what else to do…and I wouldn't, even if I had…you are the most important here."

"There is something else…Eragon had a sword…something I don't usually see everywhere." said Gia "Do you know where he got it?"

"Not sure. I heard he got it from somewhere…magic place or something…but it actually gave him more strength…and great protection power to pass unseen!"

"Huh. That's something new." said Gia "You'll have to teach me how to do that."

"Yes." said Zephyr "But we should better hide somewhere…they'll be looking for you."

"But why?" said Gia "If you didn't tell them about me…"

"I didn't…but I'm afraid that Eragon could have seen it in Galbatorix's mind some moments before the end…" said Zephyr "And maybe someone saw you in the room."

"I don't think so. They didn't look at me or tried something…" said Gia.

"They didn't because they had to concentrate on defeating the king!" said Zephyr angrily "You're not the center of the world! And better!"

"Fine, we'll stay away from people until we check what is my situation." said Gia, suddenly looking at the ring on her finger "Oh, shit! I forgot about Murtagh! Where is he?"

"Well, probably with the Varden…" said Zephyr "I hope they explained it somehow to him because they don't have enough protection in the case war starts.

"What?" Gia looked shocked "The Varden? He can't be there!...with…_her_."

"Who?" Zephyr looked curiously at Gia's angry face.

"The leader of the Varden! That bitch!" yelled Gia angrily.

"Umm, I thought you believed Murtagh didn't really…" said Zephyr.

"I don't want him close to her!" said Gia "Take me to the Varden! Now!"

"But Gia, that is not the smartest thing to do…" said Zephyr.

"I don't care, ok?" said Gia "You'll taking me there or someone is dead!"

"Ok, ok…calm down." said Zephyr "I'll take you there, if that's what you want. But after we get some rest…I'm tried."

"No, I want to go now!" said Gia.

"This was very exhausting for me! I can't anymore." said Zephyr annoyed.

"Fine! I'm going on my own then!" said Gia.

"You can't…" said Zephyr.

"Watch me!" said Gia "I'll find my way!"

"Go then, I won't stop you." said Zephyr.

"Just one thing before I go...did you send a boy to tell me something...while I was at Nick's place?" asked Gia.

"No." Zephyr looked surprised at her.

"Huh, I thought it was you..." said Gia "But nothing then...it's not important."

"Ok, but be careful, Eragon will come back to the Varden." said Zephyr.

"I know. That's why I want to get there before him...or at least while he is still occupied with celebrations and stuff..." said Gia "I don't know what will happen now...this is the end...the end of everything."


	13. Deadly sin

Gia immediately went to the nearest village. It wasn't important anymore will someone see her or not; she was still a magician and they probably didn't hear yet what happened. She stopped a guy on the street, smiling seductively.

"Hey, can you please tell me how to get to the Varden?" asked Gia. The guy stared at her in surprise.

"Huh…" he said suspiciously "Who are you?"

"A friend of Eragon." said Gia "You know, the Dragon Rider…"

"Oh, yes, sure! Eragon was here some weeks ago!" suddenly smiled the guy.

"He was?" said Gia surprised "Huh, then you know. That's why I need to get to the Varden."

"Umm, I'm afraid I can't tell you." said the guy "That's confident information."

"Fuck that!" said Gia annoyed and checked the guy's mind. He just stared at her as the pain went through his head because Gia didn't have time to be gentle.

"Thanks!" she smiled at him and hurried to get away from there. People were already looking at her strange. She thought it must have been her black clothes, unusual to see around.

* * *

Time was passing by so fast and the dark woods made Gia think she got lost. The image she got from that guy's mind was clear; she was on a good way, but distance forced her to use magic to give more energy to her horse. She felt so tired and had to take more energy for herself too.

"_Great, now everyone will know where I left! Dead plants and animals everywhere._" thought Gia "_But I need to get there before the hero!_"

After some time of riding, she got to the one very dark and thick woods. She had to get off her horse because it was impossible to pass. A dark shadow crossed her way and she just stared in front of her in shock, not knowing what that thing was. She looked around and saw the leaves moving. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment to calm down. It was probably a bird or something. In the moment she opened her eyes, she saw a boy standing in front of her.

"Gia…" the boy whispered.

"Who…who are you?" Gia couldn't move from fear. What would a boy do in the woods? It was impossible.

"It is." the boy said and Gia heard a noise behind her back. She gasped and turned around, but there was nothing to be seen. When she turned back the boy was gone. Gia was shocked. Suddenly she realized she already saw that boy before. It was the boy who asked for her in Nick's restaurant. But then everyone saw him and Gia noticed that her horse was calm like nothing happened. So, it must have been something that just she could see this time. That made her even more upset. She thought that she is probably in some enchanted woods where everything is possible. But the boy always said her name and something she couldn't understand.

"Where are you?" suddenly yelled Gia, looking around and hoping the boy will come back "What did that mean? It is? It is…what?"

But she didn't get an answer and nothing happened. She hurried to get out of the woods and she was pulling the horse with her. The animal just walked after her, totally calm.

* * *

Some hours passed by before Gia could find her way out of the woods. But finally she saw something that looked like a village not so far from the place where she was standing. She immediately got onto the horse and hurried to get there. After few minutes, she was very near and left the horse there. She wanted to pass unnoticed and found another way to go because walking on the main street wasn't really smart thing to do.

"_Gia!_" she heard the voice in her head while walking; it sounded familiar.

"_Thorn!_" Gia was shocked and happy in the same time "_Where are you? What's going on? Where am I? Are you ok?_"

"_Wow, Gia…slow down…I can't answer all that questions at once!_" Thorn laughed "_You found us!_"

"_Sorry. But you have to tell me something!_" said Gia excited.

"_Listen to me. Be careful. We are here with the Varden…I'm surprised you got here. People here already know about Galbatorix. So…we're like on the party._" said Thorn.

"_What? But how? I just came…_" Gia was surprised.

"_Eragon is here too._" said Thorn.

"_What?_" Gia was shocked "_But you are ok? Fuck it, I forgot it's easier to fly on the dragon than ride a horse!_"

"_Yes. Well, since we are now free…we are not against Eragon._" said Thorn "_I'm going to tell to Murtagh…_"

"_No! Wait!_" said Gia "_Is that girl…Nasuada there?_"

"_No, she stayed at the tower to do something._" said Thorn.

"_Oh, where is_ _that tower?_" asked Gia and Thorn sent a picture to her mind "_I love you, Thorn. Don't tell anything to Murtagh yet. I'll come soon._"

"_What are you going to do?_" asked Thorn suspiciously.

"_Umm, I have to find the best way to get there without Eragon knowing…so, I'll tell you ok?_" said Gia.

"_Huh, ok._" said Thorn and Gia broke the mental connection. She walked carefully closer to the streets and realized that people are mostly in another part of the town. And right at the end of the street was a tower that Thorn showed her. She smiled to herself and hurried to get there. On her surprise, there weren't any guards keeping the door. They were obviously sure that the danger is gone. Gia got upstairs, following the dark passage. On the first floor, at the end of the hall, there was a room with big door that was opened. Gia slowly walked down the hall and picked up the knife she found there on the small desk. She came into the room and saw a girl standing in front of the door that led to the balcony. The girl didn't turn around while Gia was getting closer and closer to her.

* * *

"Hello, bitch!" said Gia, pressing the knife to the girl's neck and making her gasp.

"What do you want?" asked the girl, trying to turn around and face Gia.

"Just looking for you." Gia smiled and let the girl to turn around so she can be sure it's really Nasuada. She looked a bit different than Gia saw her in her mind but it was her.

"Looking for me? Who are you?" asked Nasuada, looking at her angrily.

"Oh, I'm your worst nightmare, my dear." said Gia, still holding the knife under Nasuada's neck "You dared to love my man."

"You're crazy! Now get out of here before the guards come and kill you!" said Nasuada.

"You think you're brave?" Gia laughed and shut the door with magic "I can make sure no one interrupts."

"You're Galbatorix's magician!" said Nasuada in shock "But he is dead! Don't you know it?"

"Oh, I know it. I saw him die." smiled Gia and moved the knife a bit across Nasuada's skin "But you see…I don't care about the king…the thing is…Murtagh is mine."

"He's free now, remember?" said Nasuada "He's not yours."

"Shut up, bitch!" yelled Gia "You have no idea…"

"Murtagh is not anymore what he was under influence of Galbatorix." said Nasuada "You can see it by yourself. And you should follow others' example and accept what happened. You can change….there is another life waiting for you…and everyone…please, think about it."

"Oh, please, you're so stupid!" laughed Gia.

"Let me go." said Nasuada "Please. Let Murtagh choose what he wants."

"Did you kiss him?" asked Gia "Did you sleep with him?"

"No! What do you think who I am?" said Nasuada angrily and looked at Gia's eyes.

"Oh, good girl!" laughed Gia "And now you would like a fair fight with me? Let Murtagh choose?"

"Yes. What you are doing now…is an act of a coward!" yelled Nasuada "Are you afraid he would pick me over you?"

"Oh, please…" Gia's eyes shined with anger "I know him more than anyone. I know what he likes…I know what excites him…he would never choose you."

"Then let me go…" said Nasuada, looking suddenly behind Gia's back. Gia realized she's taking too much time.

"Bye, bye…bitch!" said Gia and cut Nasuada's neck. She fell down on the floor, still looking at Gia.

"Fuck!" said Gia and used magic to finish what she started.

"No!" someone yelled behind her back and Gia turned around shocked. Eragon was standing in the middle of the room with the sword in his hand and next to him there was a little girl with strange eyes.

"Oh." Gia said, thinking what to do. This was something she didn't expect. Suddenly more people came to the room, soldiers and magicians. Gia looked at them nervously. If they wanted, they could have killed her right there. Then she saw Murtagh who stared at her in shock.

"Who are you? What did you do?" yelled Eragon, looking at Nasuada's dead body with tears in his eyes.

"But I didn't…" suddenly said Gia "I found her like that!"

"You lie!" yelled Eragon.

"No, I swear…" said Gia, pretending to cry "I just…I didn't do it!"

"Who are you?" asked Eragon.

"I'm Gia." she said quietly.

"Gia…you were Galbatorix's magician!" said Eragon angrily after some moments of thinking "What are you doing here?"

"Umm, so you know…" Gia said surprised "I just came to find Murtagh…that's all…and I came here to ask…if someone saw him…and I found her like this!"

"She's not telling the truth!" yelled Eragon to the men who were there "Take her to the room without windows until we clear this out. Magicians, keep an eye on her all the time. Don't leave her alone, she's dangerous!"

"No, wait!" yelled Gia as they approached her. They were much stronger than her and blocked all her attempts to stop them from taking her away. Magicians grabbed her arms and led her out of the room, while Eragon hurried to Nasuada. But there was nothing he could do, she was already dead. Murtagh just looked at Gia and didn't say a word what surprised Gia even more and made her scared. What if it was true that he changed? What if they did something to him? Gia didn't know what to think as they were taking her away.

* * *

Gia was sitting on the bed in the room where they took her. Two magicians and two soldiers were keeping the door from the inside and outside. She sighed; this was worse than being under Galbatorix's rule. They stared all the time at her and that was more than annoying. She didn't know what to do. Her thoughts were controlled, her moves too so there was really nothing interesting she could do. After some hours the door of the room opened and Eragon came in.

"The hero is here." said Gia quietly, more to herself.

"Gia." said Eragon coldly, his eyes still wet and red from tears "You're going to pay for this!"

"Well, I say…innocent, until proven guilty." smiled Gia.

"Oh, I'll prove you did it!" said Eragon angrily.

"How?" Gia raised an eyebrow "There are no witnesses who actually saw what happened."

"Your mind will tell." said Eragon bitterly.

"Really? You're going to torture me?" smiled Gia "Nice start for the new king! Yay!"

"If you're really innocent, you'll let me check your mind." said Eragon.

"Sorry, but that won't happen. I'm not going to let you see my life story." said Gia.

"I know you did it! And…I'm…I'm going to kill you!" yelled Eragon.

"Listen, boy, I don't know what you're thinking, but you're wrong." said Gia "Look at me. I'm innocent! Can't you see it?"

"If you were innocent, you would be crying for Nasuada!" said Eragon.

"I would? Oh, please, I didn't even know her! I've never seen the girl before in my life!" said Gia.

"You would show at least a little bit of compassion…" Eragon almost started to cry again "You are more evil than the king was!"

"Evil? How dare you?" Gia looked at him angrily "Who are you to tell who is evil and who is not? What is evil anyway? How many soldiers did you kill? Tell me!"

"Shut up!" yelled Eragon and ran out of the room. Gia started to laugh and this time the guards looked at her surprised.

"What?" Gia yelled at them "Stop fucking staring at me! Pervs!"

* * *

"How is she?" asked Murtagh when he saw Eragon in the hall.

"Huh, she just killed Nasuada and you're asking me how is she!" Eragon was upset.

"You don't understand…" said Murtagh.

"No, I think you don't understand!" yelled Eragon "She is a murderer! She has to pay for this! The king is dead so there is no excuse for what she did."

"You're not thinking right." said Murtagh "Maybe she didn't…"

"Oh, she did!" said Eragon "There is no one else who would hurt Nasuada!"

"You don't know that!" said Murtagh.

"We can't prove she is guilty, but she doesn't want to try to prove that she's innocent." said Eragon "So, yeah, I'm sure about it."

"What are you going to do?" asked Murtagh.

"She deserves to die for this and you know it." said Eragon.

"What? No, you can't do that!" said Murtagh.

"She was Galbatorix's magician….she killed Nasuada…and she's going to pay for that tomorrow." said Eragon "I won't change my mind. I'm the king now and this is my final decision."

"Fine." said Murtagh "But I want to see her first…"

"Why?" asked Eragon.

"I love her. I need to talk to her…" said Murtagh "You know…it's not easy."

"Umm, ok." said Eragon quietly "But I'm coming with you."

"Good." said Murtagh "Let's go."


	14. It's over

Gia was freaking out. This whole situation seemed hopeless and she didn't like to feel trapped inside the four walls. Suddenly the door opened again and Gia saw Murtagh and Eragon coming in.

"Murtagh!" Gia whispered with excitement and hurried to hug him.

"Gia." Murtagh said quietly, not showing too much emotion.

"What is going on?" asked Gia nervously, looking better at the cold expression on Murtagh's face.

"Nothing." said Murtagh, gently touching her hair "I just wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" Gia looked at him shocked.

"Calm down, please." said Murtagh and looked sadly at Eragon.

"Guards, go out." suddenly ordered Eragon and they looked surprised at him "We can handle this alone."

The guards finally went out of the room and Murtagh turned back to face Gia. She just looked deep into his eyes and noticed a strange shine in them.

"I don't know how to say this…" Murtagh said quietly "I…just can't…oh, how much I love you."

"Umm." tried to say Gia, surprised because this wasn't Murtagh she knew. Something was totally wrong. He wouldn't just come to her with all that sudden sweetness.

"_Gia, listen to me! It's important._" she heard Thorn yelling into her mind "_Don't show any emotion! Carefully! Eragon mustn't know! He wants to kill you! Don't panic!_"

"You were everything to me…no one ever made me feel like you did…" Murtagh continued while Gia tried her best to stay calm.

"_We're getting out of here! Now!_" said Thorn "_But I need you to cooperate._"

"_Yeah, fine but how are we supposed to get rid of the wonder boy?_" Gia said to Thorn while smiling sadly.

"…you…just you." Murtagh gently touched her face.

"_We will make Eragon leave! Just kiss Murtagh! Get physical or whatever! We need to make him feel uncomfortable._" said Thorn.

"_Oh, really? And what if he likes to watch?_" Gia almost forgot on her facial expression that had to stay perfect.

"_He's not like you, Gia!_" laughed Thorn.

"_And how do you know that?_" said Gia little bit upset "_You studied Eragon?_"

"_Saphira told me some things about him…_" said Thorn.

"_Damn you dragons! What the fuck are you talking about? Crazy!_" Gia had to bit her lip not to laugh "_Where is Saphira? What if she…?_"

"_She won't! She's busy with something._" said Thorn "_Come on!_"

Gia slowly got closer to Murtagh and started to kiss him, first gently then pulled him closer to her. They started to kiss passionately.

"…what I would give…to have….just one more night with you." said Murtagh between kisses. Gia smiled at him and then her face went rigid.

"What did you say?" she moved away from him a bit "Just one more night? You mean…you mean…they still think I…no! You can't let them hurt me! You can't!"

"I would give anything to change what happened." whispered Murtagh and hugged Gia who was now crying.

"So, this is…this the last time we…" Gia's voice sounded broken. Eragon looked at them, feeling little bit sad.

"Kiss me….I want to remember…forever." whispered Gia quietly as she almost jumped on Murtagh, kissing him passionately. Gia pulled Murtagh's shirt off him and threw it on the floor, while he was pulling her dress down and kissing her neck. She could see in the corner of her eye how Eragon's face went red. Eragon wasn't looking at them anymore, but staring at the floor instead. He needed just a bit more to get totally uncomfortable with the situation. Gia smiled wickedly at Murtagh who kept kissing her, now even more passionately.

"Oh, Murtagh! I…love you!" moaned Gia louder and louder and almost screamed.

"I'll be…right…outside." said Eragon confused and almost ran out of the room.

"That was…awesome!" said Murtagh quietly "Be careful. Thorn can't protect you perfectly. Now, be ready. We're getting you out of here."

"Immediately?" whispered Gia surprised "Can't we just finish? You know, what we started?"

"Fuck it, Gia. Not know! Later!" smiled Murtagh "Don't use magic or Eragon will know something is wrong."

"What are we going to do?" whispered Gia nervously.

"Just stay close to me and close your eyes. Now!" said Murtagh and used magic to put protection around them. Gia closed her eyes and heard a loud sound like a thunder and then the ground started to shake. She opened her eyes in shock; Thorn was flying next to the huge hole in the wall he made. Murtagh pulled her with him and they got on the red dragon's back. Thorn immediately started flying fast to get away from the Varden and Eragon.

"Murtagh!" yelled Gia with her eyes closed while they were flying "We can't! They have the green egg!"

"No, they don't!" said Murtagh "Maybe they took it and it's there but it won't hatch for them!"

"We have to go back! I'm not leaving that egg to them!" yelled Gia.

"Not now! We can't risk Eragon coming after us!" said Murtagh.

* * *

After some hours, Thorn and Murtagh decided that it's safe to get back to the ground. They immediately went to hide in the woods where they found a cave big enough to hide Thorn.

"So, your brother wanted to kill me?" said Gia after some moments of silence.

"You killed the leader of the Varden." said Murtagh without even looking at her.

"Yeah, so? She was more than annoying." said Gia.

"Why did you do it?" Murtagh looked into her eyes.

"You know why." she said and gently touched his face. He just looked at her.

"Hey." said Gia "I was afraid…they did something to you. How did you convince them to trust you?"

"That was easy." suddenly laughed Murtagh "They thought that since Galbatorix is dead, I'm free and won't do anything against them."

"Yeah, well I wonder where you got all that pathetic stuff you were talking to me?" laughed Gia "I thought I was going to be sick."

"I know. But it had to be like that or Eragon wouldn't believe me. People like that kind of things." he smiled.

"Just don't say that to me again, ok?" she smiled and kissed him.

"Don't worry. I'm not that stupid." he said.

"You think they will look for us?" asked Gia.

"Yes, Eragon wants you dead." said Murtagh.

"Great. Where are we going to go?" Gia was worried.

"I don't know yet. Just away from people." said Murtagh "But we need to find your dad."

"My dad? Why?" Gia asked surprised.

"Well, we obviously can't go back to the Varden to get the green egg." said Murtagh.

"So you're going to send my father there? No, I won't let you!" Gia was upset "They'll hurt him or even worse, kill him!"

"I think your father is not stupid. He'll know what to do." said Murtagh "And what about your mum? Where is she? No one knows her, so it would be even better. Or your brother?"

"Just because your family is dead doesn't mean you have to kill mine!" yelled Gia "No way! I'm not putting anyone in danger anymore! Can't we just send someone else? We can pay someone to do that!"

"We can't trust anyone right now!" said Murtagh.

"Fuck it! Then we're doing it alone! I don't care how but we can try!" said Gia.

"No! You're not going back there!" yelled Murtagh. At that moment Gia felt dizzy and almost fell down.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?" Murtagh was at her side in a second, looking worried.

"I'm…I'm fine." said Gia, putting her hand on her head "I just need some fresh air. This cave is…I'll be back in a second."

"Ok." said Murtagh "Don't go far and be careful. I'm going to take care of Thorn."

"Yeah, yeah. You don't have to tell me. I'm not a baby!" said Gia, walking slowly out of the cave.

"Then I don't know how you always get in trouble!" said Murtagh.

"That's because I fell for you, so technically it's your fault!" laughed Gia.

"Just go." smiled Murtagh and went closer to Thorn to check does he have any more cuts and wounds.

* * *

Gia was walking through the woods, looking around nervously. She came to the one spring and took some water.

"Great, water…now if I could just turn it into wine." said Gia to herself. Suddenly something behind her back moved. She turned around in panic and saw nothing. The noise came from another part of the woods and she was just turning around but didn't see anything.

"You." she whispered when she saw the boy again in front of her "Why don't you finally tell me who you are and what the fuck do you want?"

"Gia." said the boy and Gia felt sharp pain in her stomach. She looked down and saw the blood.

"What did you do to me?" asked Gia, feeling like someone just stabbed her with a knife.

"Gia." the boy was still standing there with blank expression on his face.

"Fuck you!" yelled Gia as she managed to sit down under one tree "You're going to kill me?"

"You did so much wrong." said the boy.

"So? What do you have to do with that?" said Gia with tears in her eyes "Who are you? What are you?"

"It's not important who I am." said the boy, getting closer to Gia who was still in pain "This is all about you."

"Please…don't kill me…" whispered Gia "…whoever you are…I didn't do anything to you."

"You are so afraid right now, aren't you?" said the boy, now standing close enough to touch her hair. She wanted to move away but she couldn't. Her whole body was like a statue, completely unable to move.

"No." she whispered.

"You didn't look like this when you killed the leader of the Varden." said the boy "…or when you killed your lover…"

"Don't!" cried Gia "Don't!"

"I tried to warn you to take care of yourself. But you didn't listen." said the boy.

"What are you talking about?" asked Gia "You told me just…nothing…"

"You're not even sorry." said the boy with disgust.

"Who…are…you?" said Gia in frustration "Stop…doing this!"

"Again you with that question. Don't you recognize me?" the boy smiled at her. Gia stared at his eyes for a moment, feeling her energy is going away.

"You." suddenly said Gia shocked "No…it can't be…"

"Oh, yes, it can!" he said.

"No…you're not real." said Gia "I'm dreaming."

"You wish!" he laughed.

"You're going to kill me, huh?" said Gia bitterly "Murtagh will find you and kill you."

"No, I'm not." he smiled "Well, I'll leave it all natural."

"How did you…come back?" whispered Gia "And…so…young?"

"You killed me, bitch! And I loved you!" he yelled angrily.

"You were supposed to stay dead!" said Gia, feeling stronger for a moment.

"Luckily, my mother didn't give up. She was furious…you killed me and no one could prove it. As you know my mother is magician…with some dark magic, you can get people back to life." he said while his eyes shined dangerously "But as you can see, you can't get back exactly as you were! You don't know how much effort it took me to follow you like this!"

"No…it can't be. Your mother couldn't have done this alone." said Gia suspiciously "It was…Galbatorix, wasn't it?"

"The king helped, of course. He was interested in what will happen. If it had worked actually, he could have done some of his plans." he said "Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough."

"What do you want from me?" asked Gia, not feeling her body anymore.

"You have to pay for what you did." he said "You killed me."

"You can kill me but that won't make me feel sorry for what I did." she said angrily "It will make you guilty."

"Guilty? For what? For killing a murderer?" he laughed "Eragon would be very happy if I did him that favor."

"I loved you…until you had to go with her!" she said upset.

"And how many times did I tell you I had nothing to do with the girl!" he said "She was pretty but I didn't love her."

"You liked her." she said bitterly "That was enough."

"You couldn't stand it…that I was looking at a girl." he said "You kept getting rid of them until you decided it's easier to kill me!"

"You know why I never felt guilty for your death?" smiled Gia "It's more like you killed yourself. You were the one who told me to kill you!"

"I didn't mean it like that!" he said "We were fighting about that girl…and I said if you're going to put this on me over and over, then why don't you just kill me…I didn't ask you to do that actually!"

"Fine! So you got another chance! Fuck off and leave me be!" she yelled.

"And what are you going to do? Hold Murtagh as your prisoner for life?" he laughed.

"I love him." said Gia "I love him more than I loved you and he loves me. Nothing else matters."

"You bitch!" he yelled angrily "I tried to spare you this pain…but…"

Suddenly Gia felt her body again and the pain in her stomach was unbearable. She was able to move again but she didn't have energy to do something. It was hard to breath.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked.

"No…" Gia cried and looked at the wound that was bleeding.

"It's over, Gia." he said.


	15. Adonis

Gia panicked. She didn't know what to do; she was completely helpless.

"Ah." he suddenly said "It would be so easy to end your life just here. You can't run away, not even move."

"Then do it!" yelled Gia "Finish this!"

"You know, Gia, you're not that brave to face the death." he said "You don't even know yet what this world can offer. Magic, they call it, but what they know about it? You know just the basics. Your magic means nothing!"

"Do I need to listen to all that?" cried Gia "Just…damn it. I can't stand this feeling!"

"That's what I want, my dear." he smiled "Now, listen. There is more powerful magic than you could ever imagine. This little game you played with Galbatorix and Eragon is silly compared to what I learned…the real use of magic…"

"What are you pretending to do? Keeping me half-dead forever?" Gia almost smiled at him when she realized her wound stopped bleeding.

"No, I would prefer to see you dead." he laughed "But that's a nice thought, actually."

"Huh." Gia rolled her eyes.

"I would kill you. Don't doubt it. But I won't take another life because of you." he said.

"What?" she looked at him surprised.

"If I kill you, you won't be the only one who dies." he said "Got it now?"

Gia stared at him confused, tears forming in her eyes again.

"You don't know? You didn't realize something changed?" he said.

"What are you talking about?" she said suspiciously.

"You're pregnant." he said and laughed at the shocked expression on her face.

"What? No!" she whispered "That can't be…"

"Oh, you people are so silly…of course it can be and you know it." he said "Sometimes I really feel ashamed of what I was."

"Huh, you should be ashamed of what you are now." said Gia.

"Don't worry. I'll find a way how to fix this and get back to my old face…the one you loved." he laughed.

"What now, Adonis?" asked Gia and realized the pain and the wound were gone. She got up and looked at him.

"Go back to him, Gia." he said "But don't think we're done here."

"What? Are you going to kill me after I give birth?" Gia smiled bitterly.

"That is an option." he laughed "I'm warning you…one wrong step…and…be careful."

"Do you think I'm going to kill you again?" she laughed "But you can be calm, I won't. You're going to do it by yourself."

"Oh, please! What are you talking about?" he said "You can't do anything to me anyway."

"You are going to be the next Galbatorix." she smiled "Completely."

"I'm not stupid as he was." Adonis said angrily "I can change the world."

"Don't you know what happens if you use too black magic?" Gia looked at him, still not believing this boy could really be Adonis.

"Nothing is too black, my dear." he laughed.

"As you say…will you let me go now?" said Gia.

"Go." he smiled "See you soon."

"Whatever." said Gia quietly and hurried to get to Murtagh. She still didn't have it clear was it just a dream or reality.

* * *

"Where were you?" asked Murtagh nervously when Gia got back to the cave. Thorn raised his big head and stared at her.

"I…I was near." said Gia confused "Why?"

"No, you couldn't have been near! Thorn couldn't feel you!" said Murtagh "It was like you were dead! Like you vanished!"

"I'm pregnant." suddenly said Gia and Murtagh just stared at her surprised.

"What?" Murtagh got closer to her.

"You heard me." said Gia coldly.

"Is it mine?" asked Murtagh and Gia got angry.

"I'm not sure, actually." said Gia and Murtagh looked at her in shock "It might be Thorn's!"

"Fuck it, Gia! That wasn't funny!" said Murtagh.

"Well, I thought you were joking!" yelled Gia "We have a serious problem and it's not that joke of your brother."

"What are you talking about?" Murtagh raised an eyebrow.

"Galbatorix had some secret magic experiments and…my ex-boyfriend is alive. I just saw him." said Gia.

"What?" Murtagh looked at her like she was crazy.

"Do you remember when we heard once that Galbatorix talked about black magic?…but not just what he showed to you…" said Gia "Magic we use doesn't have anything to do with that kind of black magic. We need to get the green egg before it's too late."

"I'll go." said Murtagh.

"What? No! We're going together or sending someone else to do it for us…but that wouldn't be safe." said Gia.

"Fuck it, Gia, I'm not letting you to go back there! I won't let anything happen to you!" said Murtagh "You're not in condition to go somewhere."

"Hey! Just because I'm pregnant it doesn't mean I'm incapable!" she got angry "You can't even tell I'm pregnant…you wouldn't have known, if I hadn't told you."

"Whatever, but you're not putting our child in danger!" he yelled.

"Do you think I would feel better if I knew I sent you there alone? Do you think I would be happy without you?" she looked at him "No, Murtagh. We're doing this together. I'm not ready to loose you…especially not now. I need you."

"Fine." he finally said and gently touched her face.

"Ok. So we go there, steal the egg and run…" said Gia "That's the plan."

"Huh, no." said Murtagh "Not a good plan."

"Then what are we going to do?" asked Gia.

"Eragon will be looking for us…" said Murtagh "We can't just walk in the town, can we?"

"No, we can't. But I know someone else who also needs to get to Eragon and the egg…" said Gia.

"Your surprisingly alive ex?" he asked and smiled.

"Exactly." she laughed "I still can't believe it, but whatever…he is very powerful magician now but he can't go there just like that. I bet he stayed antisocial and has no help here."

"So…what are we supposed to do?" he gave her a questioning look.

"Firstly, we have a dragon…secondly, we know a lot about Eragon and his little friends…thirdly, Eragon is looking for us…can't be better!" she smiled "On the other hand, my loved ex doesn't know more than Galbatorix and probably he's never been there…even all power of the world can't help him in this situation. He needs our help and we need the egg."

"Yeah, but he wants the egg too, right?" Murtagh was skeptical.

"So what if he does? Do you really think it would hatch for him?" Gia rolled her eyes "I don't think so!"

"How are you so sure?" Murtagh looked at her and realized that Thorn was moving his head nervously.

"Thorn knows." said Gia and looked at the red dragon "Right, my love?"

"I so hate it when you talk behind my back!" Murtagh said annoyed when Thorn just nodded.

"Well, technically, you're looking at both of us right now so it can't really be behind your back…" said Gia "…unless you want to turn around?"

"So let's pretend your ex accepts to help us, even I still don't get it why, what we are going to do?" said Murtagh.

"He will help us. Oh, and his name is Adonis. I don't like it when _you_ call him my ex…yuk." said Gia with disgust "He wants to prove that he's the best and be the king. The only way to do that is to beat the current king…your brother."

"Stop calling him like that…Eragon is no longer my brother." said Murtagh "You were saying…what our part in all of that is?"

"Well, we're going to be a bait for Eragon…he's looking for us and he'll go after us if he finds a trace…" said Gia with a strange shine in her eyes "In the same time Adonis will go to the Varden and prepare a trap for Eragon when he comes back…I think he can come up with something with all that black magic…if we're lucky enough, it will kill him in the process."

"Huh, that's not a bad idea…but why do you think Eragon will go after us?" said Murtagh suspiciously "He can send someone else."

"That's why we're going to left him a note." smiled Gia "He will be so pissed…he'll come after us."

"When did you think of this plan?" Murtagh raised an eyebrow "A crazy moment of inspiration or…?"

"Umm, actually I don't know…I feel weird since…since I talked to Adonis." said Gia.

"Maybe the idea is his." said Murtagh upset "Maybe we are in danger! What the fuck did he do to you?"

"I think it is his idea…but not completely…" suddenly Gia felt scared "He wouldn't want his own death, right?"

"Gia, why don't you tell me exactly what happened? This can be serious…maybe he's listening right now." said Murtagh nervously.

"I think I would feel that!" said Gia "But I think he did put some thoughts in my head…maybe more like hints…another prove that he needs our help!"

"Thorn, do you feel anything?" Murtagh looked at the surprised dragon who just shook his head to say no.

"Adonis almost killed me…but he stopped…he said it was because of the baby…" said Gia suspiciously "…but maybe…he just needed our help…he doesn't care about our baby!"

"I don't know what he thought…but you are staying away from danger." said Murtagh "If someone is going to be bait for Eragon, it will be me."

"Shut up! We already discussed that. I'm going with you, no matter what." said Gia "We need to react fast. I'm going to call Adonis…I think I know how to do it…huh, awkward."

"Just be careful and clear your mind…this is not good." said Murtagh and followed Gia who went out of the cave and walked to the spring she saw before. She slowly touched the water and whispered something Murtagh couldn't here. After some moments Gia looked around nervously.

"Where are you?" yelled Gia and then heard a noise behind her back. She turned around in panic.

"I'm here, love." laughed Adonis and looked at Murtagh who stared at him angrily "Huh, Gia, did you already make a plan that includes me?"

"What did you do to me, you son of a bitch?" yelled Gia angrily.

"Don't worry. I just gave you a hint what to do." he smiled "Your empty mind won't be any more damaged!"

"Fuck off." said Gia annoyed.

"So you are her new lover, huh?" Adonis looked at Murtagh "Gia, you really lost a good taste after me…"

"Shut up!" said Murtagh angrily "If you touch her, I swear…"

"Oh, you're going to do what?" Adonis laughed "Please, spare me all the drama. We have better things to do."

"You know, the problem is that you're not so convincing in such a small form." said Gia "If you can't make yourself look like an adult, then how can we know your story about powerful magic is not a lie?"

"Oh, I see…you didn't change…still stupid and limited way of thinking." said Adonis "I'm even more powerful like this. And I already told you why!"

"Yeah, yeah." Gia rolled her eyes "You're going to set up a trap for Eragon, right?"

"Yes." said Adonis "And you're going to get Eragon out of the town and then get lost, so he comes back."

"Oh, shit." suddenly said Gia disappointed "So the idea was yours?"

"What? You surprised?" Adonis laughed "I'm a genius."

"And he wonders why I killed him…" said Gia quietly to herself.

"What?" Adonis looked at her.

"Nothing." lied Gia "I just…I need a drink."

"Gia, you're pregnant…you can't drink what you want." said Adonis.

"What? Fuck it, you're right!" sighed Gia "Great, now I'm depressed…and how long…?"

"You must be joking…don't you know anything about pregnancy?" asked Adonis and he and Murtagh both looked at Gia surprised.

"Umm, how am I supposed to know? I never did it before!" Gia raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind. Your lover will explain it to you later." Adonis rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I'm going to write a note for Eragon…" said Gia and looked at Adonis "Can you transfer it to a place where he can find it?"

"Sure." said Adonis "Just hurry."

* * *

"I have it!" smiled Gia when she got out of the cave after some minutes with the paper in her hand "Dear Eragon, I want you to know that I enjoyed killing Nasuada. It was the most exciting thing I've ever done. I would do it again, but hey, I forgot, she's dead already. You'll never catch us. I send you one big kiss. Gia."

"Not bad!" smiled Adonis "You didn't loose your talent to annoy people."

"Fuck off." said Gia and handed him the paper "Just send it or whatever you're going to do with it."

"Gia, come here." said Murtagh when Adonis went to do something with the paper.

"What are we doing?" asked Gia nervously "You just stood there and said nothing!"

"His magic is more powerful than ours! I checked with Thorn." said Murtagh "We need to be careful around him."

"I know that! But tell me what to do!" said Gia upset "Because I'm confused! Is Thorn protecting us?"

"Yes, and Adonis is busy…just talk fast!" said Murtagh.

"Ok, maybe I was wrong…what if the freak doesn't die while trying to kill Eragon?" said Gia in panic "What if he is strong enough to survive?"

"Gia, a lot of black magic used on wrong way kills in a second. Just think." said Murtagh "He will need magic for getting there…making trap…taking care of other magicians…and finally Eragon! Don't you think that's enough to kill him?"

"I hope so." said Gia.

"Listen to me." said Murtagh "When Eragon goes back…we go there, too. And while they are dealing with each other, we'll steal the egg. No one will have time to watch it…and then we disappear. It doesn't matter who will stay alive…Adonis or Eragon…as long as we are alive, they can both be dead."

"Right." said Gia "I'm scared."

"No, you don't have to be scared." said Murtagh and gently touched her face "I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know." said Gia "Just this whole pregnancy thing sounds scary."

"Oh, that." said Murtagh "Don't worry. It'll be fine…just that we finish with this situation."

"Shh, he's coming!" said Gia nervously and suddenly kissed Murtagh passionately. Adonis got to them and just rolled his eyes.

"Let's go." he said.


	16. Night Shadows

"I don't like this." said Gia while she and Murtagh were flying on Thorn's back. The sky seemed to be too calm and clear.

"It will be fine." said Murtagh "We can't fly fast right now or he won't find us."

"It's just…" said Gia "I'm not sure I want that anymore."

"Gia! I can get you down immediately or shut up because talking at this height is not comfortable at all!" said Murtagh.

"Whatever." said Gia "Let's hope that Eragon found the note already and tried to find out our location with magic…"

"_Are you sure this will work?_" suddenly asked Thorn.

"_Umm, yeah? Why wouldn't it?_" asked Gia.

"_Because Eragon knows you don't want to be found, so why would you remove protection so he can find you easily?_" said Thorn suspiciously.

"_Well, we have two options. Or he will be too angry to think of that or he will think we want a final battle for power._" said Gia.

"_Oh, fine. Why are you so nervous then?_" asked Thorn.

"_I don't know. There are so many things…I'm scared._" said Gia "_But don't you dare to tell that to Murtagh!!_"

"_Ok._" said Thorn and then his body tensed a bit "_Someone's coming!_"

"_What?_" Gia was upset "_Already? But we thought we had an hour left!_"

"_Saphira is faster than I thought._" said Thorn "_She can feel us too. We have to be faster._"

"_Go, Thorn! We need to keep him behind us for an hour!_" said Murtagh.

"_So how are we going to get rid of him if he gets so close?_" Gia was worried.

"_Don't underestimate me! I'm faster than you think. But I must admit Saphira is good too. Well, not as good as me. She's a girl._" said Thorn.

"_Shut up, dragon._" said Gia "_So what if Saphira is a female? It's possible that she's better than you but I doubt it. You should know better._"

"_Right. But if we don't lose him, we can always disappear in the mountains._" said Thorn.

"_Just fly._" said Gia.

* * *

"_He's getting close!_" said Gia upset after almost an hour "_We have to disappear! I can actually see Saphira behind us!_"

"_Ok, we're doing it then. You two use magic and try to block him from seeing us! We're going to the mountains!_" said Thorn.

"Now!" said Murtagh and he and Gia concentrated on making a wall of magic in front of Eragon and Saphira. Thorn was flying fast all the time until they reached the mountains and hid in one of the big caves. The cave wasn't just an ordinary cave; it was made long time ago and everyone forgot about it. It had some kind of door. When someone inside pressed the right stone, the door closed and from outside it looked like part of the mountain. No one could ever tell that something is inside. It was protected with magic and very safe.

"What now?" asked Gia and sat down on the ground.

"We wait." said Murtagh while checking did Thorn get hurt while flying.

"For how long?" she asked nervously.

"Until Eragon leaves." said Murtagh.

"And how are we going to know when he leaves?" Gia raised an eyebrow.

"We won't. But we are not staying here for more than two hours." said Murtagh "Adonis is going to give him a track so he will think we went to the Varden."

"Umm, yeah…but what if he doesn't? I mean, what if Eragon stays here and waits until we show up?" said Gia.

"You said Adonis wants to be the king." said Murtagh.

"Yes, he does…but…I don't know." said Gia.

"We're just following the plan. Eragon doesn't know this place exists. He won't find us." said Murtagh.

"I hope you're right." she sighed "I need a drink."

"Here." he said, giving her the water and then gave her a warning look "Don't try to turn it into wine!"

"Huh, how did you get that idea?" she almost bit her lip. He didn't say anything.

* * *

"I can't." suddenly said Gia after they spent almost an hour in the cave.

"What's wrong?" Murtagh looked at her surprised. Her body was shaking and it looked like she's trying to catch her breath.

"I'm not feeling well." she said upset "I can't!...can't…be here anymore!"

"Gia, breathe!" said Murtagh and gently hugged her.

"Get me…out…of here…please!" Gia said "Can't…breathe…"

"Ok, we're getting out." said Murtagh and went to open the door.

"_Wait, we can't! What if they are still out there?_" said Thorn nervously.

"I don't care!" yelled Murtagh "I'll fight him if I have to! Just that she's alright!"

He pressed the right stone and the door moved. Gia was feeling dizzy; she almost fainted. Murtagh took her into his arms and carried her out of the cave. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes for a moment. Her mind was clear again. Murtagh was looking around, trying to see are they still in danger.

"_They're not here anymore._" said Thorn happily "_I can't feel their presence._"

"Are you ok?" Murtagh looked at Gia, still worried.

"I'm…better." said Gia and smiled.

"Good." said Murtagh "We're going after them. We're getting the green egg."

"Now?" Gia asked surprised "But I…"

"You can stay here if you want. But we have to go now or we're not going to be able to steal the damn egg!" said Murtagh.

"Ok, ok!" said Gia "Let's go!"

* * *

"What now?" asked Gia when Thorn landed near the Varden after some hours.

"Fuck it, Gia!" yelled Murtagh annoyed "You're asking that all the way! I'll tell you when it's time!"

"Fine!" said Gia "You don't have to yell on me!"

"Can't you shut up for a second? I'm trying to think of a plan that won't get us killed!" said Murtagh.

"Fuck off!" said Gia "If you don't want me here, fine. I'm leaving."

"Wait, where are you going?" asked Murtagh in shock after Gia turned around and started walking away.

"Away from you!" said Gia.

"No, you're not!" said Murtagh and grabbed her arm "You're not running away because you are scared!"

"I'm not scared!" yelled Gia and pushed him away.

"Don't lie to me!" Murtagh let go of her, looking deep into her eyes "I won't let anything happen to you."

Gia stared at him for some moments and didn't move. Thorn was looking at them nervously. Gia came close to Murtagh and they kissed passionately.

"Let's do this." said Gia quietly. They immediately went to hide Thorn and hurried to get to the town. When they got closer, they realized people are running down the streets, trying to get away. No one seemed to care who is close to them, the only important thing was to get the family out of the town. Gia and Murtagh heard a noise from one part of the town and saw everything was destroyed immediately.

"Everyone get out of here! Now! Don't look back!" yelled some guy who ran by.

"They weren't ready for this." said Gia "No one expected another threat."

"Perfect." said Murtagh "Now people are in panic so they won't see us…We need to get to that tower before it gets destroyed!"

"How are we going to do that?" asked Gia.

"Run!" smiled Murtagh and pulled her with him before she could realize what was going on. They were running down the street, avoiding others who were trying to escape. One guy saw them and stopped for a second, but then hurried back to his wife.

"Do you think he recognized us?" Gia was worried.

"Probably." said Murtagh "But he can't tell anyone."

"Where are the soldiers and magicians?" asked Gia suspiciously "Shouldn't they be here, defending their people?"

"Soldiers are running away with their families. I bet Eragon told them to do so…he knows it could only kill them to fight." said Murtagh "Magicians are probably helping him…"

"Oh, yeah, right. I forgot how much your brother wants to be the hero." Gia rolled her eyes. They came to the tower and hurried inside. Gia almost fell while running up the stairs but Murtagh caught her. The egg was kept in the room at the top of the tower. Murtagh came there first and took the egg in his hands, looking at it carefully.

"That's it? No protection? No nothing?" he looked at Gia.

"Let me see." she said and took the egg, touching it gently all over "That's it. Everything is ok. They must be busy with using magic on other thing…so they left it here unprotected."

"Well, that was easy." said Murtagh, took the egg from Gia's hands and put it into the bag "Let's get out of here! Now!"

He went to the door, but Gia didn't move. She was just standing there and looking through the window. Murtagh turned around and looked surprised at her.

"What is it?" he asked. She didn't answer and he got closer to the window. They could see half destroyed town and Saphira trapped inside something that looked like a bubble of magic.

"Gia, let's go!" said Murtagh nervously. But instead of following him out of the tower, she went to the balcony.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Murtagh yelled after her.

"Look." she whispered. They could see Eragon and his magicians on the ground, Adonis standing in front of them and a big cloud of magic between them. It seemed like the protection will brake any moment and black wave will destroy everything.

"Just a little bit…and it will be over." said Gia quietly "Eragon can't do this. We have to help him. It's the only way to push Adonis over the edge."

Murtagh looked at her for a second and they didn't have to say anything to know what they have decided. They put all their effort into making the shield stronger. The black wave grew bigger and bigger but it couldn't brake the protection. Suddenly Adonis looked up to the tower and Gia looked at him angrily. In that moment they heard a noise that sounded like an explosion. Big dark wave of magic rose into the air and fell down right on Adonis. They could feel the ground shaking when all buildings around got destroyed. The tower was about to crash down to the ground when Thorn flew next to it. Murtagh immediately pulled Gia with him as they jumped on Thorn's back. Gia looked down at the ground and saw Adonis' dead body. She sighed and hugged Murtagh a bit stronger. Eragon and others were looking at them but they were too weak to try to stop them. Thorn was flying fast to get away as fast as possible.

"_What were you thinking, stupid dragon? You could have gotten yourself killed! We told you to stay hidden!_" said Murtagh.

"_Hey, if I stayed there, we would all be dead by now!_" said Thorn.

"_You're right._" said Murtagh "_I'm glad you came._"

"_Where are we going?_" asked Thorn.

"_To the coast._" said Gia "_I want…to see the sea._"

"_Umm, no problem._" said Thorn.

* * *

Four years later, Eragon was sitting in his room and reading something when a woman ran into the room.

"Night Shadows!" she said nervously.

"They were here?" Eragon got up from his chair surprised.

"Yes." the woman said "I'm going to see what is missing."

"Ok." said Eragon "_Murtagh and Gia were here and we didn't notice that?_"

"_Seems so. They are good in hiding._" said Saphira.

"_I know, but still…the last thing we heard about them is that they have a baby son and that green egg hatched. How can they do that? Appear everywhere at night, steal some things they need and leave a signature?_" said Eragon.

"_That's why they are called Night Shadows. No one ever saw more than their shadows in the woods or near rivers._" said Saphira "_We can't find them until they want to be found._"

"_They could be living somewhere far from here. But they keep coming back._" said Eragon.

"We found a note. I think it's for you, my king." said one man and gave the piece of paper to Eragon. He looked surprised at it and started reading.

"Be careful, young king. There is a new power rising. A new country. A new land. Maybe we won't be there for you next time. They are different people from us and they have dragons." Eragon looked at the back of the paper "Night Shadows. Murtagh, Gia, Matteo, Thorn, Emerald."

"Who is Emerald?" asked the man.

"Probably the dragon." said Eragon and sighed "Night Shadows…At least I know you're alive."

* * *

Gia was standing on top of the mountain in a long black dress. The wind was playing with her long dark hair. Murtagh came slowly behind her back and put his arms around her.

"Hey." he whispered softly into her ear and kissed her neck. She smiled. Little boy with black hair ran next to them, trying to catch a butterfly.

"He's beautiful." said Gia quietly while they were watching the sunset over the wild sea.

"Yes, he is." smiled Murtagh. They kissed passionately as two dragons landed near.

The end

* * *

**Author's note: **Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. Once again, I didn't have in plan this will be such a long story, but I always say that, don't I? lol Like I wrote somewhere in my profile, the title came from the name of a song called Night Shadows but the plot doesn't have anything to do with the song. It was just random. Thanks again and see you soon!

**Disclaimer: **In case you don't know, I do not own any of Christopher Paolini's characters, but I do own all other characters like Gia, Adonis and others.


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